Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi over the ‘trophy’ row following the Asia Cup 2025 final. India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final to clinch the Asia Cup title but the Suryakumar Yadav-led side refused to receive the winner’s trophy from Naqvi. Controversy erupted over the decision and Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, left with the trophy. India have still not received the trophy, with latest reports claiming that the trophy is currently in the UAE cricket board office.
Harbhajan said that winning was the biggest trophy for India but added that Naqvi is not ‘big enough’ to not give the original trophy to India.
“A lot happened during the Asia Cup. About the handshake saga—before that, the bigger question was whether the matches should have happened at all. India won the tournament, and that is their biggest trophy. I don’t think Naqvi or anyone else is big enough to decide whether the trophy should be awarded or not. If not today, then tomorrow the trophy will be given, so what’s the point of keeping it aside? We have won it, and the trophy will come to us one day or another,” Harbhajan told IANS.
Harbhajan also blasted former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi for releasing a video clip of the infamous slapgate incident involving the off-spinner and pacer S. Sreesanth from 2008, saying he “must have been under the influence” while doing so.
On August 29, Modi, who was the chairman and commissioner of the IPL at that time, shared the clip of the incident from IPL 2008 between Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth during an interview with former Australian captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
“I didn’t understand why there was a need to make it public. Everyone thinks differently. Whatever happened was wrong, and I have already apologised for it. What happened between me and Sreesanth at that time was not right. As a sportsman, I don’t think I should have done that. People learn from their mistakes, and if I had enough understanding back then, I wouldn’t have done it,” the former Indian cricket team said.
(WIth IANS inputs)