Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan played a big role in helping his team reach a respectable total of 171 against India in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 match on Sunday. Farhan bought some time in the middle, scoring 58 runs from 45 balls, before being sent packing by India all-rounder Shivam Dube. While his half-century gave Pakistan a decent foundation, it was his celebration after reaching the milestone that became a hot talking point among fans. After crossing the 50-run mark, Farhan celebrated the landmark using ‘gun gesture’. The celebration left fans in stunned, with some even criticising the opening batter.
Speaking at the press conference on Monday, on the eve of Pakistan’s second Super 4 match against Sri Lanka, Farhan was asked about his celebration against India. The 29-year-old said that he doesn’t care about what anyone thinks (mujhe parwah nahi), he celebrated in the manner as he wanted to.
“I think, if you talk about the sixes, you will see that (a lot) in the future. And that (celebration) was just a moment at that time. I do not do a lot of celebrations after scoring 50. But, it suddenly came to my mind that let’s do a celebration today. I did that. I don’t know how people will take it. I don’t care about that. And the rest, you know, you should play aggressive cricket wherever you play. It is not necessary that it is India. You should play aggressive cricket against every team, like we played today,” he said, in response to the question.
AK47 #INDvPAK
— Shivani (@shivani_di) September 21, 2025
When asked about Pakistan’s strategy going forward, for the Sri Lanka, clash, Farhan said that the team lost quite a few wickets in powerplays earlier. It is important to rectify that, while also ensuring that runs are put on the board in the first six overs.
“I think in the last few matches what was missing was that we were not utilising powerplays well. We were giving early wickets. It is important to use the powerplays well and also not give away wickets.
“The way we played in powerplays today, we did not give away early on wickets. God willing, our powerplay was also very good as we scored 90 something runs in 10 overs. We did collapse in the middle but we will rectify it,” he concluded.
