New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) handed down a two match ban on Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf for his misbehaviour during the T20I Asia Cup tournament. Rauf is now set to miss the first two ODIs against South Africa.
Pakistani opener Sahibzada Farhan also received one demerit point and will lose 30% of his match fee for celebrating his half-century against India with an AK-47 gesture.
Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Jasprit Bumrah will also also lose their match fees for their involvement in the altercation.
The T20I Asia Cup 2025 was jointly hosted by India and the UAE. India and Pakistan played three matches against each other in the UAE. Two of them were in the group stage and the last one was the final.
The tournament was held barely a few months after “Operation Sindoor” – the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan and things were bound to be fiery between the two teams when they came up against each other.
While Suryakumar refused to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart after the tosses, Rauf was seen gesturing about a plane going down and signalling 6-0 with his fingers. This was related to Pakistan’s unsubstantiated claims of downing six Indian Air Force fighter jets.
The ICC confirmed the suspension on Tuesday after several disciplinary hearings following the aggressive encounters on the field.
“Rauf’s total of four demerit points within a 24-month period, resulted in two suspension points under the ICC’s disciplinary framework. In accordance with the Code, Rauf is therefore suspended for Pakistan’s ODI games against South Africa on November 4 and 6,” the ICC said in a statement.
ICC rules state that if a player accumulates four or more demerit points in the space of two years, it leadw to suspension. Rauf accumulated four in a matter of 3 weeks during the Asia Cup.
Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test match or two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first for the player. Rauf was picked to play vs South Africa, but will now have to sit out.
