India pacer Jasprit Bumrah went viral some time back for on-field savage celebrations during the 2025 Asia Cup final in Dubai, where India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets for the ninth Asia Cup title.
The moment that grabbed eyeballs was when Bumrah cleanbowled Pakistan Haris Rauf and went on with the ‘plane down’ gesture, said to be a pointed reply to some form of taunt by Rauf some days before during the Super Fours stage.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also shared a screenshot showing Rauf’s dismissal and Bumrah’s gesture, with the message, “Pakistan deserves this punishment.”
#OperationSindoor on the games field.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 28, 2025
Outcome is the same – India wins!
Congrats to our cricketers.
The match was surely emotional, especially after past instances of the Pakistan players being provocative to the Indian fans.
During a Super Fours match, Rauf made a similar ‘plane down’ gesture as a dig at Pakistan’s false claim of downing Indian aircraft in “Operation Sindoor”, which was India’s military retaliation launched after a terror attack in Pahalgam had claimed 26 civilian lives.
In a sort of symbolic revenge, running parallel to the final, Rauf’s wicket enabled India to answer back, and the pacer surely took his moment.
Following the match, an already tense episode unfolded when Team India allegedly declined to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistani minister Mohsin Naqvi.
After a brief standoff on the stage, Naqvi just walked away, and the Indian team proceeded to celebrate on their own.
Complementing Team India, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, tweeted, “Operation Sindoor in the games field. The results are the same—India wins! Congratulating our cricketers.”
Union Home Minister shook the affirmatives and stated:
“What a phenomenal victory! The fierce energy of our boys blew up the rivals again. Bharat is destined to win, no matter which field.”
