The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against two Pakistani players.

The complaint originated from what the BCCI considered as ‘provocative’ and ‘unsportsmanlike’ gestures made during the Super Four clash between the two teams in the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai.

India took issue with Sahibzada Farhan’s celebration after scoring a half-century and Haris Rauf’s hand gestures, interpreting both as provocative.

Farhan celebrated by holding his bat and mimicking a machine gun firing.

While some may argue it’s just a celebration, the BCCI has viewed it as a provocative and insensitive act.

Haris Rauf made hand gestures that referenced the downing of six Indian Rafale planes by the Pakistan Air Force in military clashes in May this year.

According to the BCCI, Haris Rauf mocked Indian military failures, mimicking a plane crashing and also displayed a “6-0” hand gesture.

Social media brought into play

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, in the meantime, posted a slow-motion video of Cristiano Ronaldo on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), in which the football star makes a hand gesture resembling a plane crash.

Indian double standards

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has previously highlighted what it calls India’s double standards.

It had filed a complaint with the ICC after Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav linked the cricket victory to a military operation, a statement that the PCB argued was a direct violation of cricket’s code of conduct, blurring the lines between politics and sport.

The PCB maintains that India targets emotional celebrations by Pakistani players, but turns a blind eye when its own players politicise the game by invoking military actions.

Indian playbook

Experts maintain that this is part of a recurring pattern and pointed out that whenever Pakistan gains prominence in any field, Indian media and officials respond with baseless accusations to stir controversy.

This trend has now spilled over onto social media, where Indian propaganda campaigns are actively running anti-Pakistan narratives.

Pakistani fans and social media users have responded defiantly, saying that the gestures by Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan were symbolic reminders of India’s past aggression and humiliating defeats — truths that, they claim, India finds hard to digest.

It is widely believed that the BCCI’s complaint is less about discipline and more about its efforts to bring Pakistan under pressure.

Pattern of political tactics

India has previously used political tactics against Pakistan in almost every major tournament — from visa delays, opposing neutral venues, to filing ICC complaints.

According to critics, the consistent goal is to keep Pakistan under pressure off the field, when it cannot be countered on it.