The India versus Pakistan clashes during the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 have been marked by both on-field confrontations and off-field disputes. The group-stage match on September 14, saw India refuse handshakes
at the toss and post-match, escalating hostilities. In the Super four clash on September 21, provocative actions by Pakistan opening batter Sahibzada Farhan and fast bowler Haris Rauf apart from the on-field confrontations of Pakistan bowlers with Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill also increased the tensions on the ground.
Amid that, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has found Indian cricket team captain Suryakumar Yadav guilty of breaching its Code of Conduct due to comments made during the Asia Cup 2025, which alluded to a military skirmish between India and Pakistan. The verdict, announced on September 26, resulted in a 30% match fee fine for Yadav following his remarks after India’s group-stage victory over Pakistan on September 14, as per the report published in ESPNcricinfo.
It is said that India has appealed the decision, with potential for increased sanctions if the appeal is unsuccessful. The PCB reportedly argued that these remarks breached the ICC’s Code of Conduct, citing past instances where players were penalised for political statements, such as Usman Khawaja’s 2023 attempt to display “Freedom is a human right” on his shoes, which the ICC deemed political. Meanwhile, hearings for Pakistan players Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf, accused of provocative on-field gestures during the Super Four match on September 21, were reportedly held on Friday, with their verdicts being a warning and 30% of match fees to be paid as fine respectively.
BCCI filed complaints against Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for their provocative gestures
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appealed the verdict regarding the decision against Suryakumar Yadav, though it remains unclear when or if the appeal will be heard. Simultaneously, they had also filed a complaint against Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for provocative gestures during the Super Four clash on September 21, which India won by six wickets. Farhan, after scoring 58 off 45 balls, celebrated his half-century by mimicking a gun-firing gesture with his bat. Rauf, responding to Indian fans chanting “Kohli, Kohli”, a claimed reference to Virat Kohli’s match-winning sixes against him in the 2022 T20 World Cup made gestures mimicking a plane crash, interpreted as a provocative allusion to India’s military operations during Operation Sindoor. Rauf also directed verbal abuse at Indian openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who responded with strong performances.
The ICC hearings for Farhan and Rauf, reportedly conducted on Friday in Dubai. While Rauf received a 30% match fee penalty for “abusive language and aggressive gestures,” while Farhan escaped with a warning. Meanwhile, a guilty verdict on appeal could also escalate Suryakumar Yadav’s sanction ahead of the final of the Asia Cup 2025 against Pakistan, that is set to take place at Dubai International Stadium on September 28.
