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Haris Rauf gets two-match ban; Suryakumar, Bumrah sanctioned after Asia Cup drama
Haris Rauf missed the first ODI against South Africa on Tuesday, and will be unavailable for the second one as well, as he serves an ICC ban. He has accumulated four demerit points, from two separate offences that occurred during Pakistan’s matches against India during Asia Cup 2025.
Though the ICC said on their official website that Rauf’s violations took place on September 14 and 28, they in fact occurred in the games on 21 September and the final, 28 September.
Each time, the offence involved a breach of Article 2.21 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which concerns bringing the game into disrepute. As Rauf did not accept the charge on either occasion, formal hearings were held, after which the sanctions were handed out. Once a player accumulates four demerit points within a 24-month period, a two-match suspension is automatically triggered.
Rauf’s sanction was one of many that resulted from incidents during the three India-Pakistan games across the Asia Cup. India captain Suryakumar Ydav also picked up two demerit points under the same charge, following comments he made after India’s win over Pakistan on September 14.
While ESPNcricinfo reported on the sanctions at the time, the ICC only officially made them public on Tuesday, five weeks after the conclusion of the tournament Sahibzada Farhan also received an official warning and a demerit point for an offence on September 21, though, once more, the ICC attributed it to September 14.
Jasprit Bumrah picked one up for a gesture he made during the final. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh was charged with a breach of Article 2.6, which pertains to using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting, for actions on September 21. He was ultimately found not guilty.
All the charges resulted from a trio of ill-tempered games between India and Pakistan at the Asia Cup, during which political tensions spilled over onto the field. India refused to shake hands with the Pakistan players in any of the three games, a move Pakistan captain Salman Agha criticised as “not in the spirit of the game”. Suryakumar countered by saying a “few things” were “bigger than sportsman’s spirit”.
The tension between the two sides nearly led to Pakistan pulling out of the tournament altogether, after they blamed match referee Andy Pycroft for barring the players from shaking hands, a version of events the ICC disputed. The standoff resulted in Pakistan’s game against the UAE being delayed for over an hour before the PCB and the ICC cleared the air.
The tournament ended with the first-ever Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan. India won a thrilling encounter in the final over. However, the drama was not done. At the presentation ceremony, India’s players refused to accept their trophy from ACC president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who insisted on handing it over himself. After a lengthy delay, India celebrated on the podium without the trophy. It is understood the trophy has still not been given to the Indian team.
Rauf will become available for the third game of the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which is currently being played in Faisalabad.
[Cricinfo]
On Tuesday, a day before the ICC is expected to take a final call on Bangladesh’s participation at the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, the PCB wrote to the governing body stating that it supports the BCB’s stance on not wanting to play in India at a time of political turmoil in the neighbourhood. ESPNcricinfo has learned that that PCB also copied the members of the ICC Board in it.
It is understood that the ICC has called a Board meeting on Wednesday to address the matter of the BCB asking for Bangladesh’s matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka because of security concerns in India. It could not be ascertained if the PCB’s email led to the Board meeting being called.
The timing of the PCB email could raise eyebrows, but it is understood that it will not impact the ICC’s stance so far, of not changing the World Cup schedule and allowing Bangladesh to play in Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the tournament with India. The ICC has been firm on this and has conveyed the same to the BCB during its interactions last week.
The BCB, with the Bangladesh government’s support, has refused to travel to India for the team’s group-stage games.
The ICC and the BCB have met several times to discuss the issue, most recently in Dhaka last weekend. But neither side has shifted their stances – the ICC insisting matches must go ahead as planned and the BCB that it cannot send its team to India. January 21 – Wednesday – had been set as a deadline for a decision, less than three weeks before the start of the tournament.
The PCB’s late involvement in the matter comes on the back of a week of speculation around their possible ways out of the impasse. There were unverified reports that the PCB had offered to stage Bangladesh’s games in Pakistan and, more dramatically, that the PCB was reviewing Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup, contingent on what happens with Bangladesh.
The PCB has not commented publicly on the matter, or responded to ESPNcricinfo’s queries.
The stand-off began when the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for IPL 2026. The reasons for that have never been fully explained, though a worsening of political ties between Bangladesh and India has been cited. That prompted the Bangladesh government to formally state that the Bangladesh team would not play its matches in India.
The situation has spiralled since then, even leading to a player boycott in Bangladesh, which affected the ongoing BPL, after a senior BCB official spoke disparagingly of the country’s premier players when asked about the financial implications for the BCB if Bangladesh ended up staying away from the T20 World Cup altogether
(Cricinfo)
Rain in Bulawayo allowed just ten overs of action between Bangladesh and New Zealand .
The match began an hour later than scheduled, and as a 47-over contest after Bangladesh opted to bowl. Iqbal Hossain Emon cleaned Hugo Bogue up for 8 in the second over, but just as Aryan Mann and Tom Jones steadied New Zealand, rain returned, only for no play to be possible after that.
It was New Zealand’s second washed-out game in a row, and they will hope to beat India in their final group game so that they don’t have to depend on the result of the Bangladesh-USA match to progress to the Super Sixes.
No result: New Zealand 51 for 1 vs Bangladesh
The first over of the 202 chase set the tone for what followed as Australia cruised past Japan at the Under19 World Cup in Windhoek. Will Malajczuk smashed Nikhil Pol for 14 runs, and never looked back, racing to a 23-ball fifty and a 51-ball hundred as Australia chased down the target with eight wickets and nearly 20 overs to spare to seal a Super Sixes berth.
By the time Japan finally got rid of Malajczuk, he had thumped 102 off 55 balls, with 12 fours and five sixes. He brought up his half-century midway through the sixth over, by which point Australia were already 66 for 0, with Malajczuk contributing 57 of those runs off 26 balls. At the other end, his opening partner Nitesh Samuel scored 7 from ten deliveries.
The pair added 135 for the first wicket, with Malajczuk doing the bulk of the damage as Samuel settled into a calmer role. While Malajczuk fell shortly after reaching his hundred, Samuel carried on to bring up his fifty off 62 balls in the 25th over and finished unbeaten on 60. He had scored an unbeaten 77 against Ireland in Australia’s opening game of the tournament.
Earlier, Japan were content to take their time after opting to bat. HUGO Tani Kelly was once again their standout, following up his 101 not out against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 79. Japan, however, slipped from a position of stability to lose four wickets for 13 runs in a middle-order collapse, during which legspinner Naden Cooray struck three times.
Tani-Kelly added 72 for the seventh wicket with Montgomery Hara-Hinze before Japan eventually finished on 201, although 30 extras from Australia played its part. The target hardly bothered Australia, whose win makes both teams’ next group game a dead rubber.
Brief scores:
Australia Under 19s 204 for 2 in 29.1 overs (Will Malajczuk 102, Nitesh Samuel 60*; Nihar Parmar 1-35) beat Japan Under 19s 201 for 8 in 50 overs (Hugo Tani-Kelly 79*; Naden Cooray 3-31, Will Byrom 2-32) by eight wickets
(Cricinfo)
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