The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Indian skipper Surya for his comments following India’s September 14 Asia Cup victory. Surya had expressed solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicated the win to the Indian Armed Forces involved in Operation Sindoor. PCB alleges the remarks were "political," though it remains unclear if the complaint was filed within the seven-day window allowed for such submissions.
In a related development, India has filed an official complaint with the ICC against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for provocative gestures during the Super 4 Asia Cup match last Sunday. The BCCI submitted the complaint on Wednesday, and an ICC hearing could be convened if Rauf and Sahibzada deny the allegations in writing. They may have to appear before ICC Elite Panel Referee Richie Richardson to respond to the charges.
Rauf, Sahibzada gestures
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.
Sahibzada, during the same match, celebrated with a gun-firing gesture using his bat as a machine gun prop, something that has been widely criticised.
"That celebration was just a moment at that time. I do not do a lot of celebrations after scoring 50. But, it suddenly came to my mind that let's do a celebration today. I did that. I don't know how people will take it. I don't care about that," Farhan had told reporters after the match.
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 th code of conduct.
Naqvi posts cryptic CR7 video on 'X'
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 the India.
Ronaldo, in the video, could well be explaining how his direct free-kick dipped and entered the goal. After this, whether the Indian team, which is now the finalist of the Asia Cup, share the dais with the ACC Chairman is something that remains to be seen.
The matter hasn't gone unnoticed as far as both BCCI and ICC mandarins are concerned. Only time will tell if there will be some kind of action taken against Naqvi.
