Cricket: ICC to hear BCCI, Pakistani board's complaints against each other's players

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While the Indian board has complained against gestures made by Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan has taken exception to Suryakumar Yadav's remark.

The International Cricket Council on Thursday will hear complaints filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Pakistan Cricket Board against each other's players, Cricbuzz reported.

The Pakistan Cricket Board filed a complaint against Indian men's team captain Suryakumar Yadav for his comments during a press conference after the two sides' Asia Cup group stage match on September 14, PTI reported.

Yadav had expressed his solidarity with those who died in the Pahalgam terror attack in April and dedicated the Indian team's victory against Pakistan that day to the Indian military.

The terror attack at Baisaran near Pahalgam town in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 16 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

PTI reported on Thursday that while the Pakistani board had alleged that Yadav's comment was "political", it was unclear when the complaint was filed as the rules require an incident to be reported within seven days.

The BCCI filed a complaint against Pakistani cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for their allegedly provocative gestures during the Super 4 stage match between India and Pakistan on Sunday, PTI reported.

During the match on Sunday, Farhan celebrated his half-century with a gun-firing gesture, using his bat as a gun prop.

After the match, he told reporters: "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."

During the same match, Rauf made gestures to depict the bringing down of aircraft.

The gesture was an apparent reference to claims by the Pakistani military that it had shot down Indian aircraft on May 7, when the four-day conflict between the two countries began. The claims made by Islamabad have not been independently verified.

ESPN Cricinfo reported that the hearing on the BCCI's complaint could take place if Rauf and Farhan deny the allegations in writing.

India has acknowledged suffering aircraft losses during the initial phase of the conflict, but has not disclosed the number of planes lost.

Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes - codenamed Operation Sindoor - on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.

The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed in the shelling.

Amid the spiralling tensions, the Indian military struck about a dozen air bases and defence installations in Pakistan on May 10, and claimed to have shot down five Pakistani jets. Hours later, the two countries reached an "understanding" to halt firing.

Match referee Andy Pycroft will preside over the BCCI's complaint and Richie Richardson will adjudicate the complaint against Yadav, according to Cricbuzz.

The Asia Cup is taking place in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday posted on social media platform X a video of football player Cristiano Ronaldo making the gesture of an aircraft being brought down, Cricbuzz reported. Naqvi's X account is blocked in India.

The Pakistani politician's post did not have a caption and it was unclear if it was meant to endorse the similar gesture made by Rauf.

Naqvi is not only the chairperson of the Pakistani board, but also of the Asian Cricket Council, which is organising the Asia Cup.