Following the controversial Asia Cup 2025, the ICC banned Pakistan’s Haris Rauf for 2 matches and fined India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav for code breaches. Meanwhile, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi withheld the trophy, sparking a BCCI escalation.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) took action against Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf and Team India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah following the Asia Cup 2025 row. Team India and Pakistan met thrice in this year’s Asia Cup edition, where the Men in Blue defeated their arch-rivals in all three encounters, including the high-voltage final at the Dubai International Stadium on September 28, Sunday.
However, the Asia Cup clashes between India and Pakistan were marred by controversy, including the Men in Blue’s no handshake with their arch-rivals as a protest against the Pahalgam terror attack, Haris Rauf’s disgraceful gestures intending to mock the Indian armed forces for successfully carrying out Operation Sindoor, and Jasprit Bumrah’s contentious gesture after Rauf’s celebration.
Suryakumar Yadav was also dragged into controversy by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for dedicating Team India’s group stage victory against the arch-rivals to the Pahalgam terror attack victims and the Indian defence forces.
ICC Punishes Rauf, Penalises Jasprit Bumrah
The International Cricket Council (ICC) conducted the hearing of Haris Rauf, Sahibzada Farhan, and Suryakumar Yadav after the BCCI and PCB lodged a complaint against the Pakistan duo and Team India T20I skipper, respectively. Suryakumar and Rauf were handed a 30% match fee each for breaching the code of conduct, while Farhan was let off with a warning.
However, as per the latest statement by the ICC, Suryakumar Yadav received two demerit points for bringing the game into ‘disrepute’, along with a 30% fine, while Sahibzada Farhan received a demerit point after being guilty of the same offence as the India skipper.
Haris Rauf, on the other hand, accumulated four demerit points in total for his provocative gestures during both the Super 4 clash and the final, earning two points for each incident. With four demerit points, Haris Rauf’s offence converted into a two-match suspension, ruling him out of the first two ODIs of the ongoing three-match series against South Africa under the ICC code.
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The ICC did not even spare Jasprit Bumrah, as he was 30% match fee and received one demerit point for making a ‘plane crash’ style send-off gesture after dismissing Haris Rauf in the Asia Cup final. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh was not found guilty of any breach under Article 2.6 (which concerns obscene, offensive or insulting gestures), and no sanction was imposed on him.
The Asia Cup 2025 was quite controversial, given Pakistan’s repeated on-field provocations, political undertones surrounding the matches and heightened tensions between cricketing boards amid sensitive cross-border developments.
India’s Asia Cup Trophy still with Mohsin Naqvi
Meanwhile, despite being champions of the Asia Cup 2025, Team India is yet to receive the silverware as the PCB and ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi took away the trophy and medals following the final. The Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi due to his controversial posts, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s plane crash gesture.
After a long delay for the presentation ceremony to begin, Team India players were forced to celebrate the night without a trophy as Mohsin Naqvi asked the ACC officials to take away the trophy. However, the PCB chairman and ACC chief, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, was firm on the stance of handing over the trophy to Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav in Dubai.
Since the BCCI did not accept Mohsin Naqvi’s demand, the Asia Cup trophy has been locked at the ACC’s Dubai office and prompting the Board of Control for Cricket in India to threaten escalation to the International Cricket Council.
The BCCI officials, including president Mithun Manhas, secretary Devajit Saikia, and vice president Rajeev Shukla, are currently in Dubai for the ICC annual meeting, where they will raise a formal complaint against Mohsin Naqvi’s conduct and demand the immediate handover of the Asia Cup trophy to Team India.