Saim Ayub irks Indian fans with cradle send-off to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

NISSHIN: Pakistan all-rounder Saim Ayub on Saturday irked Indian fans with a baby-cradle send-off to their 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during their blockbuster Asian Games 2026 men's cricket competition final here at the Korogi Sports Park.

The incident occurred on the first delivery of the third over of India's first innings, when Ayub bowled a length delivery just outside off-stump, on which Sooryavanshi attempted a reverse sweep, but the extra bounce saw the ball glance off his gloves and go to wicketkeeper Usman Khan.

Ayub, who drew the first breakthrough for Pakistan in the high-octane fixture with the dismissal, celebrated it animatedly and gave a baby cradle send-off to Sooryavanshi, who could muster 15 off nine deliveries.

Ayub's celebration and send-off to Sooryavanshi, however, did not sit well with the Indian fans, who flocked to social media to show their discontent, while many of them hurled abuses at the Pakistan all-rounder.

An Indian fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Ayub "needs to learn" how to bat from Sooryavanshi, while another claimed that the emerging opener has achieved more at 15 years of age than he could at 25.

Notably, the dismissal of Sooryavanshi remained Ayub's solitary wicket in the fixture, and he went on to concede 47 runs in his quota of four overs as India went on to pile up a mammoth total of 211/6 in their 20 overs, courtesy of half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma.

He also struggled in the field, dropping two catches and later could only muster 22 off 29 deliveries as Pakistan failed to chase down the 220-run target.

Citing Ayub's dismal performance across the three departments, an Indian fan, bearing the username imravindrabisht, suggested that Pakistan lost the match the moment Ayub did the baby cradle celebration.

Furthermore, later in India's innings, Ayub was subjected to derogatory hooting and abuse by Indian fans while fielding near the boundary, with a video of the incident making the rounds on social media.

Similar derogatory comments about Ayub have also been posted by Indian fans on various social media platforms since the incident.