Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi left the global cricketing spectrum stunned when he decided to take the Asia Cup 2025 trophy back to his hotel room, following Team India's refusal to accept it from his hands on Sunday. Naqvi was present at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the India vs Pakistan final. He even stepped onto the presentation stage after the Indians beat Pakistan by five wickets, but then left the ceremony and walked out of the stadium after India reiterated their stance of collecting the trophy from a 'neutral' official.
It's been two days since the conclusion of the final, and there's no concrete update on when and how the trophy and winners' medals will be delivered to the Indian team, which has already returned home. A report in Cricbuzz, however, has claimed that Naqvi, who is also a political figure in Pakistan, has sent a condition to return the trophy and medals to the Indian team.
The report claims that Naqvi has informed the organisers that Suryakumar Yadav and his men would receive their medals only if a formal function was arranged, where he would be given the opportunity to hand over the trophy and medals to them. Considering the political relations between India and Pakistan, however, it is highly unlikely that such an arrangement would be made.
Team India refuses to accept the Asia Cup 2025 Trophy from Pakistan interior minister and ACC Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Someone just picked up the trophy and walked off the ground.
Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia slammed Naqvi for taking the trophy and medals to his hotel room.
"We have decided not to take the trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan. So we will not accept it from him," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI. He also confirmed that the BCCI has decided to report the matter to the ICC. "That does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him, along with the medals. It is very unfortunate, very unsporting.
"We hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible. This is definitely what we are going to do (protest). There is an ICC conference in the month of November or in the first week of November in Dubai. We are going to launch a very serious and very strong protest against the act of the ACC chairperson," the BCCI official asserted.
Source: NDTV