"No politics in cricket": Atul Wassan supports BCCI's complaint against Pakistan players

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], September 25 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan backed the BCCI’s complaint against Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf for their actions during the Asia Cup match, saying their behaviour needs explanation.

According to BCCI sources, a complaint has been filed with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and match referee Andy Pycroft. The Indian team has demanded strict action against both players for conduct that they believe crossed the line of acceptable on-field behaviour.

During Pakistan’s innings, opener Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his half-century in controversial fashion by holding his bat like a gun, a move that has been widely criticised as being insensitive and provocative. Later in the match, pacer Haris Rauf came under fire for multiple incidents.

After dismissing Sanju Samson, Rauf showed aggression, and later when he was stationed near the boundary rope, responded to the jeers from Indian spectators by lifting his fingers to indicate “0-6”, a reference to Pakistan’s groundless claims that they downed six Indian fighter jets during the four-day clash at the border after India’s Operation Sindoor in May this year.

While speaking to ANI, Wassan said, “India has sent its complaint to the ICC. Because you cannot politicise this platform of cricket, you cannot send a message. This is not allowed. This is not in the code of conduct. So if you have done it, then you will have to explain the connotation of it. So India is right.”

Notably, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also filed a complaint against the Indian skipper for allegedly making political remarks during the post-match presentation and press conference following the group stage clash between the two rivals.

Wassan also felt that PCB’s complaint against Suryakumar came a week later, after doing all the crazy things, and their complaint for the handshake incident was not justified.

“But Pakistan did it a week later, after doing all the crazy things in the world, now they thought to complain to the ICC. So I am saying from the first day that the handshake incident they came out for, their complaint was not justified,” he added.

However, Wassan also believed that Suryakumar made a political statement mentioning Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam during the post-match presentation and press conference following the group stage clash between the two teams, which could have been avoided.

“The platform used by Suryakumar Yadav also made a political statement. He took the name of Operation Sindoor and the name of Pahalgam. So I also felt that he did wrong. Because you had moved your point. You did not shake hands. You ignored them. You threw them in the field. After that, it should not have been done,” Wassan said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Indian players refusing to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during the tournament. Tharoor believed that while the emotions against Pakistan are understandable, the spirit of the game should be kept separate from politics and military conflicts.

“I personally feel that once the decision had been made to play, if we feel so strongly about Pakistan, we should not have played. But if we are going to play them, we should play in the spirit of a game, and we should have shaken their hands,” Tharoor told ANI.

Wassan strongly disagreed with Tharoor, stating that India is playing for the entire ecosystem, and added that by participating, they’re doing a favour, so expecting gestures like handshakes might be unrealistic.

“I dont agree with Shashi Tharoor. We had decided that playing was our compulsion. There has been a lot of discussion about it. Please see the timeline, and we are playing because we have to play forcibly. We have to play for the survival of this whole ecosystem. So we are doing a favour by playing. So after playing, now dont expect from us that we will shake hands,” he concluded.

India humiliated Pakistan in the two matches they played against each other, as they advanced to the finals of the Asia Cup. There is a possibility that they might face them again in Sunday’s final. (ANI)

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