Former India pace-bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan was left unimpressed by Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf and opener Sahibzada Farhan's controversial celebrations and gestures during the T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours game against India on September 21. Pathan said that he did not expect Rauf to stoop down to his level as he thought that the express pacer was one of the decent ones. The cricketer-turned-commentator said that stooping down to personal attacks shows the upbringing of these Pakistani players.
“I want to talk about the celebrations a little bit. Sahibzada Farhan, you know the tensions between the two sides. Haris Rauf, for that matter, I thought that he was a decent person. I met him in Australia a few years back. The gestures he made in the field yesterday were needless. It tells about both of their nature and what upbringing they come from," Irfan Pathan was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
“Play cricket in the field. To stoop down to a personal level is quite bad. And then you expect us not to talk about it, that is wrong. But I am not surprised at all. They are capable of doing these things. What you got to see on TV, that was bad itself, but the things that go on behind the scenes, the fans would be shocked if they got to know about it," he added.
Farhan, Rauf’s provocative antics backfire
During the Super Fours match at Dubai Cricket Stadium, Farhan pulled out the gun celebration, further riling up the crowd. Later, it backfired on him as he scored very slowly after reaching the personal milestone, affecting Pakistan’s scoring rate.
Rauf tried to rile up the Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. It did not go down well for him either as they bashed him around the park before he got a couple of consolation wickets. He made gestures at the boundary, including 6-0 and plane being shot down, both agendas run by Pakistan Army and media to fool their population.
However, India ended up winning their second consecutive match against Pakistan in the T20 Asia Cup 2025 comfortably. Pakistan now face Sri Lanka in their must-win encounter at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.