However, under the watchful supervision of ACC Chairman and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, the Asia Cup trophy—which was supposed to be given to the winning Indian team—remains sealed within the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) headquarters in Dubai.
India and Pakistan are engaged in a never-ending battle for the Asia Cup title. After India’s victory over Pakistan in the tournament’s final on September 28, the match remained in the news for weeks.
Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister, reportedly carried the trophy off the presentation stage during the post-match ceremony when the Indian team refused to receive it from him.
Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, tensions between India and Pakistan escalated, leading to a breakdown of customary diplomatic gestures in the sporting arena between the two countries.
The trophy is still in the ACC headquarters in Dubai as of right now, according to a source close to Naqvi, who gave explicit orders that it should not be transported or given to anybody without his consent and in-person presence, as reported by Hindustan Times.
“Mohsin Naqvi has made it very clear that he alone will present the trophy to the Indian team or BCCI in person, whenever that occurs,” the insider continued.
The episode has added to the already tense atmosphere around the competition, which was tainted by Indo-Pak hostility all along. During the occasion, Indian players refrained from shaking hands with their Pakistani counterparts, and both sides made a variety of covert and overt political gestures on the pitch.
By making politically inflammatory posts on social media during the competition, Mohsin Naqvi himself fuelled the controversy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has strongly objected to these remarks. His choice to take the trophy off the stage before any Indian or BCCI delegate could formally accept it has since led to a diplomatic and cricketing impasse.
The BCCI intends to bring up the issue at the next ICC board meeting, where it is anticipated that the topic would be discussed, possibly leading to a formal censure of Naqvi or even a request for his dismissal as an ICC Director.
India
