Former Gujarat batter Priyank Panchal has criticized Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf after the pacers’ poor show during the match between India and Pakistan on Sunday. Afridi went wicketless in the contest, while Rauf took two wickets but could not stop the Men in Blue from cruising past the finish line.

​More than his performances, Rauf became the center of controversy after the match due to his provocative gestures.

​Commenting on Rauf’s bowling after the match, Panchal said, “I struggle to remember the last time Haris Rauf was effective. All talk, no play. The whole Pakistani team is built on players hyped up internally by their ecosystem, who fizzle out internationally. False bravado can only take you so far in a game rewarding meritocracy,”

​Meanwhile, the former domestic batter also launched a no-holds-barred attack on Afridi and stated that the left-handed pacer has delivered subpar performances in recent years.

​“I’ll always fail to understand the hype around Shaheen Afridi. A classic case of a few good deliveries years ago lengthening someone’s faltering career. No zip, no pace, no discipline. I’ve seen first-class bowlers deliver better spells with more consistency,” Panchal wrote.

​Haris Rauf’s controversies during the IND vs. PAK match:

​Rauf was taunted by Indian fans in the UAE about his encounter with Virat Kohli during the 2022 T20 World Cup, where the Indian batting maestro hit him for two back-to-back sixes and eventually won the game for the Men in Blue.

​A frustrated Rauf made the “6-0” gesture, referencing Pakistan’s unverified claim of downing six Indian fighter jets during the military clashes after Operation Sindoor.

​Rauf had also made crashing plane gestures during the match as the crowd continued to tease him on the boundary line about the back-to-back sixes hit by Kohli.

​The pacer also clashed with Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma during the match. Verbal exchanges began in the fifth over between Abhishek and Rauf. Gill joined in after hitting a boundary. Umpires had to intervene to cool tempers.