Team India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate called Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf’s gestures mocking the Indian Defence Forces “not our concern,” praising the Men in Blue for staying composed and focused to clinch a six-wicket win in Asia Cup 2025.
Team India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate opened up on provocative and controversial gestures by Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf during the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash between the two arch-rivals at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 21.
The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan by six wickets, thanks to an impressive batting display by Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Tilak Varma, who helped the defending champions to chase down a 172-run target in 18.5 overs. However, the second round of the clash between India and Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 was marred by controversy as Haris Rauf mocked the Indian Defence Forces, who successfully carried out Operation Sindoor.
Rauf gestured ‘0-6’ and ‘jet crashing’, referring to the baseless claims by the Pakistan Government that six IAF aircraft were shot down during Operation Sindoor. Pakistan pacer’s controversial gestures sparked outrage from fans on social media.
‘That’s not our concern’
Speaking at the press conference on the eve of the Super 4 clash against Bangladesh, Ryan ten Doeschate was asked about the controversial gestures by Haris Rauf. In response, India’s assistant coach acknowledged the challenges posed by the intensity of the high-stakes clash but emphasized that Rauf’s behavior was beyond their control and not their concern.
“Let me just say, the amount of pressure that’s been heaped on the players because of the situation, it’s very difficult to control their behaviour. I did see some of the things Haris did, and, you know, that’s not our concern,” ten Doeschate told reporters.
“Like I said earlier, we’re really proud of how the guys carried themselves, you know, they were on fire with their bats on the field. You know, how the teams showed their ambitions,” he added.
Scroll to load tweet…
Apart from Haris Rauf, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan also came up with a provocative gesture of ‘gunshot’ with his bat after completing fifty, which many fans seemed to be intended to mock Indian defence forces and Pahalgam terror attack victims. Rauf and Shaheen Afridi were involved in verbal altercations with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, which escalated tensions on the field, but Team India remained composed and focused on their game plan, ultimately securing a six-wicket victory.
India focused on their job amid Rauf’s antics
Further speaking about Haris Rauf’s controversy, Ryan ten Doeschate lauded the Indian batters for focusing on their job and sticking to the plan despite the distractions caused by Rauf’s antics.
“I’ll say, given the situation, you can see why guys are behaving and what they’re trying to portray. But we were very focused on how we wanted to play. I think we stuck to the cricket really well. It would have been easy to lose our minds at that point, given the celebration as well,” India assistant coach said.
“Some of the words during the game from the Pakistan bowling unit, but I thought the guys stuck really well to the task of getting the job done and winning the game,” he added.
With the victory over Pakistan, India extended their winning streak to four matches in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 and will look to continue their dominance when they take on Bangladesh in the Super 4 clash in Dubai on Wednesday.