Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council chief and also Pakistan’s Interior Minister, has seen his popularity skyrocket within the country ever since he decided to remove the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the post-final ceremony in Dubai. Naqvi continues to hold the trophy in his Dubai office, turning down multiple requests from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to hand over the silverware to the Indian team. He remains adamant that the trophy would only be handed over to the Indian team in person, a condition that the BCCI refuses to accept. Naqvi, who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, has responded to the BCCI’s official letter of complaint.
In his official response, Naqvi acknowledged the letter written to him by the BCCI right before the AGM on September 30. Naqvi congratulated the Indian team on winning the Asia Cup, something that he had refused to do during the AGM, but expressed regret that such sporting expressions were not displayed by the Indian team when Naqvi waited for about 40 minutes on the presentation dais to hand over the trophy to Suryakumar Yadav and his men.
“Receipt of your letter dated September 30, 2025, is acknowledged. The letter was received just prior to the commencement of the ACC Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was scheduled for 3:00 PM (UAE time) on September 30, 2025. The BCCI was represented online at the AGM by Mr Rajeev Shukla and Ashish Shelar. This matter was discussed in detail during the AGM; however, since you have circulated this letter to ACC members, it is only appropriate to set the record straight,” the letter read, according to India Today.
“At the very outset, we must congratulate you and the Indian Cricket Team on winning the Asia Cup 2025, as the ACC President did earlier in the AGM. The ACC President is extremely appreciative and notes with pleasure the emphasis you have placed in your letter on longstanding customs, traditions, established practices, cricketing protocols, and fundamental elements of sporting integrity. We wish with all our hearts that such expressions were not merely limited to vocabulary used in a letter but also displayed vehemently on the field of play.”
The ACC boss also called India’s letter ‘slanderous and digressing’, while saying that he refuses to engage in ‘petty politics’, since no official communication was made to him about Team India’s trophy stance.
“As regards the remainder of your letter, slanderous as it may be and digressing from the same values you highlighted, the office of the ACC President will not indulge in petty politics. There was never any official communication shared with the ACC office or the Tournament Director highlighting any position or concern of the BCCI with respect to prize distribution. It was only when the ceremony was about to take place and distinguished guests had taken their place on the stage that the BCCI’s representative conveyed that the Indian Cricket Team would not be receiving the Asia Cup Trophy and awards.”
Naqvi has once again asked the BCCI to organise an official ceremony in Dubai if it wants the Indian team to be given the Asia Cup trophy.