Asia Cup: Abhishek Sharma, Rauf in Heated Face Off During #INDvsPAK
Abhishek Sharma and Haris Rauf clashed during India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match amid verbal provocation. India secured a strong start with Sharma and Gill guiding the team to victory
Asia Cup India - Pakistan
In a fiery moment during the Asia Cup match at Dubai International Stadium, Indian opener Abhishek Sharma clashed with Pakistani speedster Haris Rauf. The heated exchange happened in the second half of the Super Four clash between India and Pakistan.
The incident occurred at the end of the fifth over, after Shubman Gill smashed one of Rauf’s deliveries for a boundary. Rauf reportedly said something to Gill, which prompted Abhishek to confront him. The two came very close with animated body language, and Abhishek appeared to tell Rauf to return to his run-up and focus on bowling. The on-field umpire Gazi Sohel separated them before it escalated.
Earlier in the game, Pakistani players, including Shaheen Shah Afridi, also tried to provoke the Indian team verbally. However, the Indian openers kept their focus on batting. Abhishek stated, “Today was pretty simple. The way they were coming out to us without any reason, I did not like it. I felt it was important to give an answer to them and deliver for the team.”
During fielding, Rauf responded provocatively to persistent ‘Kohli, Kohli’ chants from the crowd by mimicking a fighter jet and showing a ‘6-0’ gesture related to Operation Sindoor claims.
India posted a strong start with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill steadily guiding the team to their second straight win over Pakistan in the tournament. Indian captain Surya Kumar Yadav commented on the post-match press meet, saying that India-Pakistan matches are not a true rivalry, given India’s dominant record in recent games.
