New Delhi : India has filed an official complaint with the ICC against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for their provocative gestures during the two sides’ Asia Cup Super 4 game here last Sunday. It is reliably learnt that the BCCI filed the complaint against the duo on Wednesday and ICC is in receipt of the e-mail.
In a retaliatory gesture, the Pakistan Cricket Board also seems to have lodged an official complaint with the international parent body against Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav for expressing his solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicating his team’s victory to the Indian Armed Forces involved in Operation Sindoor. PCB alleges that Surya’s comments are “political” although technically it needs to be seen when exactly did it file the complaint, which needs to be lodged within seven days of the said comment.
During the September 21 match, Rauf had made gestures to depict the bringing down of a plane to mock India’s military action after Indian supporters chanted “Kohli, Kohli” referring to the couple of match-winning sixes that the Indian legend hit off the pacer at MCG during a T20 World Cup game in 2022. During the match, he hurled abuses at Indian openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma during his bowling spell and the two youngsters responded with their bats.
Both Rauf and Sahibzada will have to explain their gestures at the ICC hearing and if they can’t convince then they could face sanctions as per the code of conduct. Adding fuel to the fire, Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday posted a slow-motion video of Cristiano Ronaldo on ‘X’, where the Portuguese legend is seen gesturing that an aircraft suddenly crashed, something that Rauf indicated on-field during the clash of arch-rivals last Sunday.
Naqvi, apart from also being Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, is the ‘Interior Minister’ of his country and is known to make provocative statements against India. Ronaldo, in the video, could well be explaining how his direct free-kick dipped and entered the goal.
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