PAKISTAN fast bowler Haris Rauf and India captain Suryakumar Yadav have been penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their behaviour during the Asia Cup in September.
India and Pakistan faced each other three times in the tournament, with India winning all three matches, including the September 28 final in Dubai. On all three occasions, players from both sides did not shake hands after the matches.
The Asia Cup saw added tension following the four-day conflict in May, which left more than 70 people dead in missile, drone and military fire on both sides. The conflict began after a terror attack in Pahalgam on the Indian side of Kashmir, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied the charge.
During one match, Rauf was seen mimicking a fighter jet crashing and then showing a "6-0" hand gesture, referring to the number of planes Pakistan claims were shot down during the conflict.
After India’s win over Pakistan in the first match on September 14, Suryakumar dedicated the victory to the victims of the Pahalgam attack and the Indian armed forces. Following the final, he refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president.
The Indian team celebrated retaining the title by pretending to hold a trophy. Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan interior minister, later said the players were "welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me".
The ICC said both Rauf and Suryakumar would lose 30 per cent of their match fee. Suryakumar’s behaviour, the ICC said, "brings the game into disrepute". Both players also received two demerit points.
The two demerit points took Rauf’s tally to four in the past two years, "resulting in two suspension points". He will now miss Pakistan’s first two one-day internationals against South Africa in Faisalabad, scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week.
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan and India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah received a warning and one demerit point each. Farhan had mimicked a gun celebration after reaching his half-century, while Bumrah celebrated by mimicking a crashing plane after dismissing Rauf for six in the final.
The ICC said the sanctions followed several code of conduct hearings carried out by match referees Richie Richardson and Andy Pycroft.
(With inputs from agencies)
