Asia Cup 2025: Sahibzada Farhan says 'heat of the moment' for 'AK-47 gesture' during India vs Pakistan match

The Pakistan opener's 'exaggerated celebration' after completing his half-century against India had ruffled many feathers.

Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, who has been in the eye of a storm following his 'exaggerated' celebration after completing his half-century against India in the Asia Cup cricket tie, said his 'brain fade' act happened at the 'heat of the moment' and there was nothing sinister about it.

It may be recalled that after clobbering Indian spinner Axar Patel for a six which helped him reach his fifty during the Supers 4s tie at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 21), Farhan celebrated by pointing his bat in a wierd manner which resembled more like a shooting scene from a war zone rather than a customary celebration on the 22-yard strip.

With the picture of his animated gesture going viral on social media, the 29-year-old himself sought to clarify that too much must not be read into it and that it was just a sign of 'aggression.'

"That (celebration) was just a moment at that time. I don't do a lot of celebrations after scoring 50. But, it suddenly came to my mind that let's do a celebration today. I did that. I don't know how people will take it. I don't care about that. And the rest, you know, you should play aggressive cricket wherever you play," said the flamboyant opener when asked about the controversial gesture in the pre-match press conference against Sri Lanka on Monday (September 22).

After the crushing loss to India, Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in a must-win Supers 4s tie at Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (September 23).

On a normal day, Farhan's celebrations would have gone unnoticed.

It may be recalled that people saw the lighter side of Javed Miandad mimicking Kiran More during a crucial 1992 World Cup tie in Sydney and did not give any political overtones to it.

But things have changed so dramatically as India vs Pakistan diplomatic ties are at its lowest ebb following the Pahalgam attack which resulted in 26 deaths. The diplomatic fallout has spilled on beyond the boundary too as nowadays before a cricket match, the talk is more about missiles and bayonets rather than the willow and the cherished red cherry.

It was just not Farhan who created a furore on Sunday.

Fast bowler Harris Rauf was also in the news for all wrong reasons. Fielding on the boundary rope, he was repeatedly taunted by Virat Kohli chants (the ex-Indian captain had taken him to cleaners during their T20 World Cup tie at Perth in 2022) to which he replied with a proactive fighter jet gesture, which a section of media interpreted to be an indication that vindicates Pakistan's 'false' claim of gunning down six Indian Air Force aircrafts during the Operation Sindoor in May.

Right from start, Asia Cup 2025 has been marred by controversies. The refusal of Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and players to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts at the toss and post-match, the demand of Pakistan Cricket Board to remove International Cricket Council match referee Andy Pycroft (which the game's global governing body rejected), Pakistan's drama of not coming to the ground on time before the last group tie against the UAE have all kind of tarnished the image of the sport once known as the 'Gentleman's Game'.

Gestures from Farhan and Rauf have added further fuel to the fire as the tournament for continental supremacy reaches its business end.