India vs Pakistan Asia Cup drama: ICC penalizes Surya, Bumrah and Farhan with demerit points; suspends Rauf for 2 matches

Farhan, who was also found guilty of the same offence, was issued an official warning, receiving one demerit point. Rauf was also found guilty of the same offence and fined 30 per cent of his match fee, resulting in two demerit points. In the Asia Cup final, Rauf was again found guilty of a breach of Article 2.21 and was fined 30 per cent of his match fee and received two more additional demerit points. As a result, Rauf accumulated 4 demerit points and was suspended for 2 matches, both ODIs against South Africa on Tuesday and next on November 6.

Meanwhile, India bowler Arshdeep Singh was not found guilty of an alleged breach of Article 2.6, which pertains to using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting, and therefore no sanction was imposed, ICC said.

The whole Asia Cup tournament saw plenty of rancour between the India and Pakistan teams, since it was the first time the team arch-rivals were meeting on the cricket field after the heinous Pahalgam terror attacks where 26 Indians lost their lives. The Indians, led by captain Surya, refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players in any of their three games.

Pakistan players sledged and abused the Indian batters in the Super 4 clash. Players like Rauf had also made gestures about aircrafts falling, a reference to Pakistan’s claim that it had shot down India’s fighter planes during Operation Sindoor. Bumrah and Arshdeep had responded to these gestures by similar gestures.