What ICC Laws Can Be Used To Punish Haris Rauf, Sahibzada Farhan For Vile Gestures Vs India? | Cricket News

Pakistan fast-bowler Haris Rauf and batter Sahibzada Farhan have reportedly pleaded ‘not guilty’ in front of an International Cricket Council (ICC) enquiry over a complaint from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that they made ‘provocative gestures’ during last Sunday’s Asia Cup 2025 game between the teams.

Rauf mimed downing airplanes on multiple occasions and taunted the Indian fans with ‘6-0’ gestures, hinting at Pakistan’s baseless claims about shooting down Indian jets. Farhan, on the other hand, pretended to fire a gun to celebrate his half-century, which was slammed as distasteful in light of the Pahalgam terror attack.

According to reports, both in their defense said their gestures weren’t targeted at India, with Farhan even saying that it was a traditional joyous commemoration, adopted from his tribe in Pakistan. The reports say that they are likely to be fined 50-100% of their match fees, but are unlikely to get bans.

Below, we analyse what ICC laws might be used against them.

ICC’s broad Article 2.21

If the 50-100% match fee fine is true, then both players will likely be implicated in a Level 2 breach. There are four levels of breaches, with level one bringing a fine of up to 50% and levels three and four prompting no fines but ‘suspension points’, which can lead to bans.

Fortunately for both Rauf and Farhan, there are no laws in the ICC Code of Conduct against ‘political’ or even ‘provocative’ gestures. There’s a clause against political statements made using clothing equipment and another that prevents players from making gestures that can provoke batters after they get out.

Neither covers them clearly. Hence, he’s likely to be punished under Article 2.21, which broadly considers any actions that ‘bring the game into disrepute.

This is what the law states: “By way of example, Article 2.21 may (depending upon the seriousness and context of the breach) prohibit, without limitation, the following: (a) public acts of misconduct; (b) unruly public behaviour; and (c) inappropriate comments which are detrimental to the interests of the game.”

“When assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation, and whether it was deliberate, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental, shall be considered. Further, the person lodging the Report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays (with the range of severity starting at conduct of a minor nature (and hence a Level 1 offence) up to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and hence a Level 4 offence)).”

Additionally, some viral videos show that Rauf made the plane-crash gesture while celebrating Sanju Samson’s wicket in the match as well. If proven, he can be punished under Article 2.5 as well, although that only carries a Level 1 offense.

It says: “Article 2.5 includes any language, action or gesture used by a Player and directed towards a batter upon his/her dismissal which has the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction from the dismissed batter, whether or not any reaction results, or which could be considered to disparage or demean the dismissed batter, regardless of whether the batter him/herself feels disparaged or demeaned (in other words, a ‘send-off’). Without limitation, Article 2.5 includes: (a) excessive celebration directed at and in close proximity to the dismissed batter; (b) verbally abusing the dismissed batter; and (c) pointing or gesturing towards the pavilion.”

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