“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 remarked when asked about Haris’ provocative motions.
“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.”
PCB has also lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Suryakumar Yadav for the India captain dedicating the triumph 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 friction between India and Pakistan on the border.
“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. The skippers didn’t shake hands at the toss as India seemed to be prioritizing the national sentiment, while the players didn’t greet each other after the game was over, causing a debate about the sportsman spirit. PCB has alleged that Suryakumar’s comments were politically motivated.
The second meeting between the two teams during this edition saw tempers flare as heated exchanges between Pakistan quicks Shaheen Afridi and Rauf and India openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill made the rounds on social media.
