{"id":2435,"date":"2026-10-04T08:37:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T08:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/04\/ex-pakistan-star-criticises-saim-ayub-gesture\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T08:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T08:37:56","slug":"ex-pakistan-star-criticises-saim-ayub-gesture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/10\/04\/ex-pakistan-star-criticises-saim-ayub-gesture\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal slams Saim Ayub\u2019s \u201cbaby cradle\u201d gesture in Asian Games final"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal publicly criticised Pakistani all\u2011rounder Saim Ayub for a mock celebration directed at Indian teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after taking his wicket in the Asian Games men\u2019s cricket final. Akmal urged Ayub to concentrate on his own performance rather than resorting to gestures that could be seen as disrespectful.<\/p>\n<h2>Match context and the narrow margin<\/h2>\n<p>India emerged victorious over Pakistan by 19 runs to retain the Asian Games gold medal, but the scorecard alone does not capture how tightly contested the encounter was. The Pakistan side, led by Sahibzada Farhan, put up a spirited fight that gave the Men in Blue a genuine scare. Pakistan\u2019s Hasan Nawaz, who later scored 96, threatened to turn the tide, while India\u2019s death\u2011over specialists Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube held their nerve to see the chase slip away in the final overs.<\/p>\n<h2>Early innings drama and the controversial dismissal<\/h2>\n<p>The first flashpoint of the match arrived in the third over when Saim Ayub dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for 15 runs off just nine balls. Sooryavanshi, a left\u2011handed opening batter, had begun brightly, striking Saad Masood for a couple of sixes in the second over. Opting for a reverse sweep against Ayub, the 15\u2011year\u2011old was caught, ending his promising start and handing Pakistan its first breakthrough.<\/p>\n<p>Following the wicket, Ayub performed a \u201cbaby cradle\u201d gesture that many interpreted as mockery of the teenage batter. Sooryavanshi walked back to the Indian dugout without comment, but the gesture sparked immediate discussion among commentators and viewers.<\/p>\n<h2>Anchor\u2019s observation and Akmal\u2019s response<\/h2>\n<p>The incident was first highlighted by the match anchor, who asked, \u201cDid you see that action? How unfortunate is that? You are playing such good cricket. You are giving India competition after such a long time. These things don\u2019t look good.\u201d The comment set the stage for a broader debate about player conduct on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p>Kamran Akmal addressed the issue on the \u201cGame Plan\u201d YouTube show, stating, \u201cThese things have been happening for a long time. Our performance hasn&#8217;t been great, but we are doing things for social media. The management should think about this. It&#8217;s international cricket. No matter whether he is 13, 14 or 15, he&#8217;s playing international cricket. Saim Ayub is not a kid. He should focus on his performances.\u201d Akmal\u2019s remarks underscored concerns that the gesture reflected a shift toward social\u2011media\u2011driven theatrics rather than pure sporting competition.<\/p>\n<h2>India\u2019s batting effort and the chase<\/h2>\n<p>India posted a total of 211 for six wickets in their allotted 20 overs, anchored by Abhishek Sharma\u2019s 61, Tilak Varma\u2019s unbeaten 51, and Shivam Dube\u2019s quick\u2011fire 27. The innings also featured Sanju Samson entering at number three after Sooryavanshi\u2019s early dismissal. The target of 212 proved challenging for Pakistan, despite a resilient partnership between Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub that brought the chase back into contention.<\/p>\n<p>In the final two overs, however, the required run rate surged beyond Pakistan\u2019s reach. Shivam Dube\u2019s composure in the death overs helped India seal a 19\u2011run victory, confirming their dominance in the tournament and preserving their title.<\/p>\n<h2>Broader implications for sportsmanship<\/h2>\n<p>Akmal\u2019s criticism highlighted a tension between youthful exuberance and the expectations of decorum in international cricket. While Sooryavanshi\u2019s age\u2014whether 13, 14 or 15\u2014was noted, Akmal emphasized that the responsibility lay with senior players like Ayub to model appropriate behaviour. He warned that \u201cour performance hasn&#8217;t been great\u201d and suggested that the Pakistani management consider the impact of such gestures on the team\u2019s image.<\/p>\n<p>The episode also raised questions about the role of social media in modern sport. Ayub\u2019s gesture, captured on broadcast and quickly shared online, illustrates how on\u2011field actions can be amplified beyond the immediate context, influencing public perception and potentially affecting team morale.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>India\u2019s narrow triumph in the Asian Games final will be remembered for its thrilling finish and the contributions of key players in both batting and bowling. Yet the controversy surrounding Saim Ayub\u2019s celebration of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s wicket adds a nuanced layer to the post\u2011match narrative. Kamran Akmal\u2019s call for focus on performance rather than theatrics serves as a reminder that, even in high\u2011stakes tournaments, respect for opponents and adherence to the spirit of the game remain paramount.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kamran Akmal condemned Saim Ayub\u2019s mock celebration after dismissing teenage Indian opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the Asian Games final, urging the bowler to focus on his game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[1661,1778,2668,2669,2014],"class_list":["post-2435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-asian-games","tag-cricket","tag-kamran-akmal","tag-saim-ayub","tag-vaibhav-sooryavanshi","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}