Pakistan cricketer Hasan Ali’s signature wicket-taking celebration during the flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border has not gone down well with the Border Security Force (BSF) of India.
A video of Ali taking part in the beating retreat ceremony, which is performed by soldiers from BSF and Pakistan Rangers every evening at the Wagah border, had earlier gone viral on social media.
The video showed the Pakistan pacer patting his thighs and raising his arms before breaking into the kind of unique celebration he does on the cricket field after claiming a wicket, as soldiers from Pakistan Rangers stood in the background.
Taking a strong exception to Ali’s involvement in the ceremony, the BSF has now decided to lodge an official protest with Pakistan Rangers over the breach of a protocol. according to ceremony protocol, only the BSF on the Indian side and Rangers on the Pakistan side can take part in the flag-lowering ceremony.
“The act has hit the sanctity of the parade. We will lodge a protest with Pakistan Rangers,” BSF Inspector General (Punjab Frontier) Mukul Goel told.
“Anyone can make any aggressive gesture in the viewers’ gallery on both sides but no public person can interfere in the parade. Before or after the parade, the people are free to do such things, but not in the middle of the parade,” Goel added.
