India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan's Salman Agha at the Asia Cup toss. (AP photo)India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has been fined 30 percent of his match fee, to go with two demerit points, for his remarks on the Pahalgam terror attack and his dedication of India’s win over Pakistan during the Asia Cup to the Indian armed forces.
Pakistan players Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan were also found guilty for their on-field gestures during the tournament in the UAE in September. The latter was let go with one demerit point for his gun celebration after reaching his fifty, but the pacer has been fined 30 percent of his match fee to go with two demerit points for his ‘jet crash’ celebration. Since Rauf repeated the same gesture in the final between the two teams on September 28, he was docked 30 percent of his match fee and given two additional demerit points. As a result, he is suspended for Pakistan’s two ODIs against South Africa – on Tuesday and Thursday.
After the three incidents were reported to the world body, match referee Richie Richardson conducted a hearing, during which he found all three players in breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. While the hearing had concluded before the final, the ICC announced the penalties only on Tuesday on the sidelines of its meeting in Dubai.
It is to be noted here that the ICC had to call for a hearing since all three players pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the continental tournament, after India’s win over Pakistan in the group stage – where Suryakumar and his team refused to shake hands with the opponents – tensions between the two teams were evident. After the game, Pakistan Cricket Board lodged a complaint with the ICC over Suryakumar’s comments at the post-match presentation where he dedicated the win to the Indian armed forces. The PCB claimed it was a political statement.
The tension between the two teams spilled over into the Super 4 stage clash where there were heated, verbal exchanges between both sets of players. Rauf, while fielding on the boundary, made gestures allegedly referring to a falling jet. In the same match, after reaching a half-century, Farhan brought out a gun celebration, which also came under ICC scrutiny.
Apart from these three incidents, there was relief for pacer Arshdeep Singh with match referee Andy Pycroft not finding reason to punish him.
“Arshdeep Singh (India) was found not guilty of an alleged breach of Article 2.6, which pertains to using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting, and therefore no sanction was imposed,” the ICC said in a statement.
However, Jasprit Bumrah’s celebration in the final was sanctioned by Richardson. The gesture, which was similar to that of Rauf, came towards the end of Pakistan’s innings.
“Jasprit Bumrah (India) accepted a charge under Article 2.21 for conduct that brings the game into disrepute and the proposed sanction of an official warning, which resulted in one demerit point. As he accepted the sanction, no formal hearing was required,” the ICC stated.
The saga around the Asia Cup is not over with India still awaiting the trophy to be delivered to them. After beating Pakistan in the final by five wickets, Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board and is his country’s interior minister, walked away with the trophy after the Indian players refused to collect it from him.
As previously reported by this newspaper, the Indian team had proposed the idea of bowling coach Morne Morkel or assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate collecting the award from Naqvi, but that wasn’t accepted. After waiting more than an hour after the conclusion of the final, the Indian team had to return empty-handed despite winning the Asia Cup undefeated.
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