India can come and collect Asia Cup trophy if they want it, says ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi

Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi has doubled down on his refusal to give India, the winners of the Asia Cup, the trophy unless the team accepts it from him in person.

“As ACC President, I was ready to hand over the trophy that very day and I am still ready now,” Naqvi said in a post on X. “If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me.”

Naqvi’s statement follows the most recent ACC meeting, which he chaired in Dubai on Tuesday. The BCCI, represented by vice-president Rajeev Shukla and former board treasurer Ashish Shelar, attended remotely. It is understood no resolution was reached on whether Suryakumar Yadav’s team would be handed the trophy and the winners’ medals.

In the minutes following the Asia Cup final on Sunday, there was a standoff between the Indian team and Naqvi, who is also the PCB chairman and Pakistan’s interior minister, that delayed the presentation ceremony for more than an hour. The Indian captain and team refused to accept the trophy and medals from Naqvi, who had made his way on to the podium. Ultimately, Kuldeep Yadav, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, while the trophy was carried off by an ACC official. India ended up celebrating on stage, but without the trophy or winners’ medals.

The standoff was the culmination of an acrimonious relationship between India and Pakistan throughout the Asia Cup. India refused to shake hands with any of the Pakistan players on the field, either before the toss or after the games - a stance Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha repeatedly criticised them for. After the first India-Pakistan game in the Asia Cup on September 14, India captain Suryakumar Yadav made comments that ended up costing him an ICC charge and 30% of his match fee.

In the second game on September 21, Haris Rauf’s gestures to the crowd cost him a similar monetary fine. Following the second game, Suryakumar suggested that the lopsided win-loss record between the two sides meant it wasn’t a rivalry anymore, before India won a thrilling final against Pakistan - the first ever India-Pakistan clash in an Asia Cup final.

With the Indian and Pakistani men’s teams having played in the Asia Cup on three successive Sundays, the women’s teams are set to face each other in the ongoing Women’s ODI World Cup in Colombo on October 5.

Source: Espncricinfo

- Agencies