Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav was on Thursday asked to refrain from making any comments that could be construed as political in nature by the ICC match referee Richie Richardson during an official hearing of the global body on a complaint filed by Pakistan Cricket Board.
The hearing against Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf, on a complaint filed by the BCCI, will be held on Friday as the two were playing in their Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
It is understood that the PCB had filed the complaint within the stipulated seven-day period after the September 14 game between India and Pakistan in which Suryakumar had refused to shake hands and then dedicated the victory to the Indian Armed Forces for carrying out Operation Sindoor in May. He had also expressed solidarity with the victims of Pahalgam terror attack.
“Surya attended the ICC hearing today. He was accompanied by BCCI’s COO and Cricket Operations Manager. Richardson explained to him that he shouldn’t be making any comments that could be seen as political in nature. The sanction can’t be ascertained. Since it falls under Level 1, it could either be a warning or a financial penalty of 15 percent deductions in match fees,” a tournament source privy to the details told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
READ | BCCI files complaint against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf, Sahibzada Farhan
Earlier, India had filed an official complaint with the ICC against Pakistan cricketers Rauf and Farhan for their provocative gestures during the two sides’ Asia Cup Super 4 game in Dubai last Sunday.
It is reliably learnt that the BCCI filed the complaint against the duo on Wednesday and the ICC is in receipt of the e-mail.
The gestures under scrutiny include Rauf mimicking the act of bringing down a plane, seen as mocking India’s military operations, while Farhan celebrated with a gun-firing gesture, using his bat as a prop for a machine gun.
Naqvi posts cryptic CR7 video on X
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) 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 last Sunday.
Naqvi, apart from also being the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, is the interior minister of his country.
Ronaldo, in the video, could 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.
Published on Sep 25, 2025