Pakistani cricketers behaved like ‘terrorists’ at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. When they started losing to Team India in their Super Fours clash in the T20 Asian Cup 2025, they indulged in antics. Pakistan’s top scoring batter Sahibzada Farhan, who survived a dropped catch at 0, mimicked by using his bat as an AK-47 rifle, after completing his fifty.
Pakistani bowler Haris Rauf, after getting an Indian wicket, did a play-act of shooting down a fighter jet. His gestures showed as if he has downed fighter jets. The indication was clearly towards Operation Sindoor and doing a false propaganda for Pakistani army chief Asim Munir.
When Team India began batting, the Pakistani fielders hurled abuses. India’s top scorer Abhishek Sharma later complained during a post-match chat. He said, “Paaji, today, I think I needed to do something because I didn’t like what was happening… The words that were being said… after every ball, they were making personal attacks. Shubman Gill and I were talking about it — that we’ll win our team the match and give them a befitting reply.”
It was left to Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav to rub salt into Pakistan’s wounds.
At the post-match media conference, Yadav told a Pakistani reporter, “Sir, my request is that we should now stop calling India vs Pakistan matches a rivalry.” When the reporter clarified that he was referring to “standards, and not the rivalry”, the Indian skipper said it hardly makes things any different. “ Rivalry and standard are all the same. Now what is a rivalry? If two teams have played 15 matches and it’s 8-7, that’s a rivalry. Here it’s 13-1 [12-3] or something. There is no contest.”
I think Suryakumar Yadav is right. The Pakistani cricket team lacks power and class. Wins and losses do take place in matches, but to turn the cricket field into a battlefield is objectionable. A batter pointing his bat towards the rival stands like an A-47, and a bowler doing the fighter jet downed pose, are nothing but acts of frustration.
Pakistani players excel in such low standards. If the Pakistani army chief Gen Munir can promote himself as Field Marshal after losing a battle, why not Farhan and Haris, who can try to pose as heroes after losing the match on the field?
In the first 10 overs, when Pakistani batters were playing well, the Pakistani commentator was describing his team as “aggressive” and “highly talented”. In the next 10 overs, they failed to amass runs. When during Team India’s first over, Abhishek Sharma started smacking the balls from star bowler Shaheen Afridi, the same commentator started describing his team as “inexperienced”. When Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill played wonderful shots off Pakistani bowlers and started making runs at a fast rate, the Pakistani commentators had no words left but to praise the Indians.
My opinion, since the beginning, has been that there was no need to play matches with Pakistan. After watching the two matches in which Team India decimated the Pakistanis, my sense of disapproval has somewhat dissipated. I now feel that our boys have sent a good message by defeating the Pakistanis on the ground.

Beware Of Cyber Robbers

A note of caution to all. A 78-year-old senior citizen in Delhi, Naresh Malhotra, was duped of Rs 23 crore by a cyber crime gang. Malhotra had worked in a bank and he knows banking regulations. Yet, he was caught in the trap of cyber thugs.
Delhi Police Special Cell has filed an FIR after Malhotra’s complaint that he was swindled of Rs 22.98 crore. From August 4 to September 4, this huge amount of money was transferred from his account to other shady accounts. It amounted to a neat daily average of nearly Rs 75 lakhs.
The gang went into action the moment Malhotra agreed to cooperate out of fear. A fake court via internet video calling was created, Malhotra was “produced” in that fake court, and the fake court issued an order of digital arrest. He was asked to cooperate with the thugs.
Malhotra gave all details of his properties and bank accounts. Since the cyber criminals had used letterheads of Enforcement Directorate, Reserve Bank of India and Supreme Court, Malhotra, out of fear, gave away all details of his properties. Taking advantage of this, the thugs sold his shares. Every time, huge amount of money was transferred to bank accounts operated by cyber thugs, he was given certificates from “RBI”.
Acting swiftly, Delhi Police froze a bank account having Rs 2.5 crore. Surprisingly, the gang knew that Malhotra used to stay in his home alone, he had two daughters staying out of Delhi. They even knew the numbers of grandsons and grand daughters.
Malhotra’s suspicions arose when, on being asked to transfer money to a private limited company in Kolkata, he refused and said he would himself go to the Supreme Court or RBI to deposit the money. The phone calls then stopped coming.
Former Delhi Police chief S. N. Shrivastav said, people should take care of three points.
Point 1, police never gives info about arrest warrant on phone and if there is a court order, police would reach home physically.
Point 2, no police officer will say, do not disclose this case to any other person.
Point 3, neither police nor any investigating agency carry out interrogation over video call or WhatsApp. The person is called to police station or the investigating agency office.
Last, but not the least, there is no provision of “digital arrest” in India. Anybody saying he has the powers of carrying out “digital arrest” is a cheat, a thug and the victim must disconnect the call immediately.
In 2024, Rs 22,845 crore was swindled by cyber gangs in India. During the first two months of this year, Rs 210 crore was swindled through cyber crimes and if we add Naresh Malhotra’s case, the amount comes to Rs 233 crore.
It shows the lack of awareness among the citizens. Literate and well-read persons, doctors, chartered accountants, bankers become victims and the gangs carry out their cyber crimes with full preparations and confidence.
More than 92,000 people were made victims in the name of “digital arrest”. My appeal to all of you is: Be careful, don’t get caught in any trap offering chances to get rich quick, or anybody telling you that a parcel that has come from abroad has drugs in it, or you have any links with some terror attack.
Do not fear or panic. Do not share your bank account details with any unknown persons. If OTP is asked for, do not share, otherwise your money can be easily diverted into fake accounts within seconds.
If anybody threatens you with digital arrest, take the assistance of any well-read person in your neighbourhood. In order to lodge cyber related crimes, Home Ministry has set up a helpline number 1930. Use this helpline number. No government can stop cyber crime completely, unless people become fully aware and alert.
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