Now Reading: Ex-Pakistan stars slam Saim Ayub for send-off to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
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Ex-Pakistan stars slam Saim Ayub for send-off to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Ex-Pakistan stars slam Saim Ayub for send-off to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Two former Pakistan cricketers have criticised Saim Ayub for his send-off to 15-year-old Indian batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the Asian Games 2026 men's cricket final on Saturday, 3 October. Ayub dismissed Sooryavanshi for 15 off nine balls and made a ‘baby cradle’ gesture as the youngster walked back. India won the final by 19 runs to claim gold.
Former opener Ahmed Shehzad, speaking on his YouTube channel, called the celebration unnecessary ‘acting’ and noted that India have ‘bashed Pakistan like a child’ in recent international matches. Former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, on a YouTube show, said the gesture was ‘unfortunate’ and that Ayub should focus on his own performance. Akmal added that the team management should address such conduct.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both News9live and Crictracker deliver straight match reports framed around the same controversy, with no editorial slant toward either team. News9live leads with Shehzad's comment that India has dominated Pakistan, while Crictracker leads with Akmal's broader critique of Pakistan's social-media-driven culture. Neither outlet omits India's win or the send-off, both present the criticism from former players as the news hook. The coverage is uniform straight reporting, and the balanced takeaway is the shared focus on sportsmanship: two former Pakistan players publicly rebuking their own teammate for conduct they consider unbecoming of international cricket.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): news9live.com (neutral report), crictracker.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
