Seeing the demand for a trophy hand over ceremony being turned down by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly put a new condition to resolve the Asia Cup 2025 logjam. In an ACC meeting on Tuesday, Naqvi was put on the back foot by BCCI officials Rajeev Shukla and Ashish Shelar, as they asked for the trophy to be kept in the Asian body’s office in Dubai, from where it can be shipped to India.
However, Naqvi showed little or no willingness to accept the Indian board’s requests. According to a report in Pakistani media outlet Geo Super, Naqvi even countered the subject of the trophy handover being brought up in the meeting as that wasn’t a part of the original agenda.
“This item was not on the ACC meeting agenda,” Naqvi told Rajeev Shukla during a virtual meeting.
As the BCCI insisted on the trophy being returned, Naqvi said as per the report: “If the Indian team wants the trophy, the captain can come to the ACC office and collect it from me.”
Seeing Naqvi refusing to cooperate, the BCCI also issued a warning to the ACC and PCB chief, saying a complaint will be made to the ICC with regards to the matter if the trophy isn’t handed over to the Indian team in a defined time.
“It was made clear that the BCCI will complain to the ICC and Shelar briefly left the meeting,” PTI quoted a source as saying.
The two teams played each other thrice in the tournament with India winning each time, including the final. India maintained a ‘no-handshake policy’ with Pakistan players during the event, infuriating the PCB.
The hostilities between the two neighbours are at an all-time high after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 Indian tourists were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
India had subsequently launched military action under ‘Operation Sindoor’ to dismantle terror infrastructure across the border.