BCCI lodges complaint with ICC against Farhan and Rauf

The BCCI has filed an official complaint against Pakistan cricketers Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan with the ICC for their on-field gestures during the Asia Cup Super Fours game in Dubai last Sunday. It is reliably learnt that the BCCI filed the complaint via an email on Wednesday, and the ICC is in receipt of it.

In case Farhan and Rauf deny the allegations in writing, an ICC hearing could take place to address the matter for the hearing. They might have to appear before match referee Richie Richardson - the second match referee at the tournament, Andy Pycroft being the other.

Farhan's celebration after getting to his half-century and Rauf gesturing towards a section of fans while fielding at the boundary - likely to be the incidents the BCCI has complained about - have been all over social media since that day.

"Let me first say, the amount of pressure that's been heaped on the players because of the situation, it's very difficult to control your behaviour," India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Tuesday when asked about Haris' provocative gestures.

"I did see some of the things Haris did and that's not our concern. Like I said earlier, we're really proud of how the guys carried themselves. They fought fire with their bats on the field. Other teams may have had issues with some of the things we've done. But from our side, we're proud of how the guys have carried themselves."

In what is an unconfirmed update, the PCB also appears to have lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Suryakumar Yadav for the India captain dedicating the win over Pakistan in the first round, on September 14, to "the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack" in April this year, which led to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.

"Want to dedicate the win to all our armed forces who showed a lot of bravery. Hope they continue to inspire us all, and we give them more reasons on the ground whenever we get an opportunity to make them smile," Suryakumar said in the presentation ceremony after that match, which made headlines for events before and after the match - the captains didn't shake hands at the toss, the players didn't greet each other after the match, and "handshakegate" has continued to be a subject of talk and debate at the Asia Cup ever since.

The PCB has alleged that Suryakumar's comments were "political".

Sunday's Super Fours match, the second meeting between the two teams during the Asia Cup, witnessed several heated moments including exchanges between Pakistan quicks Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rauf and India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.