The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has lodged a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against two Pakistan players, Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan, for their inflammatory gestures during the Super Four match on Sunday.
ICC match referee Richie Richardson is expected to conduct a hearing into the matter on Friday. The hearing was originally planned for Thursday but was postponed because of Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh.
Richardson held a separate hearing into PCB’s complaint against Suryakumar Yadav on Thursday, who had dedicated the victory in the September 14 league fixture to “the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack” in April this year. The PCB alleged that Suryakumar’s comments were “political”. The India T20 captain is likely to be let off with a warning.
Farhan’s gun celebration with the bat after completing his half-century caused a massive controversy, while Rauf made a ‘6-0’ gesture towards the Indian fans and even mimicked planes being shot down.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi added fuel to the fire on Wednesday by posting a video of Cristiano Ronaldo gesturing a crashing plane, mirroring Rauf’s act. Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council, appears to be using Ronaldo’s clip to endorse Rauf’s controversial act.