New Delhi, Sep 30: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has failed to stamp its authority over Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who continues to defy them.
The BCCI, despite its stature in world cricket, looks clueless in the face of Naqvi’s defiance, as the Asia Cup trophy fiasco shows no signs of resolution.
At Tuesday’s ACC meeting, the BCCI strongly objected to Naqvi’s refusal to hand over the winner’s trophy to the Indian team after their victory against Pakistan in the final.
Rajeev Shukla, who represented the BCCI, reportedly confronted Naqvi with tough questions. “Why was the trophy not handed over to the winning team? The ACC trophy is not the personal property of any individual,” Shukla is believed to have said.Naqvi, however, remained unmoved. Sources revealed that he argued there had been no written communication from the Indian camp that they would not accept the trophy from him.
He also pointedly refused to congratulate India for their ninth Asia Cup triumph, instead extending pleasantries only to Nepal and Mongolia on their induction into the ACC.The BCCI insisted that the trophy must be given to India and even suggested it could collect it directly from the ACC office if required. Yet, Naqvi stayed firm, saying the issue needed further discussion.
The Indian board, while refusing to negotiate on what it calls a “non-negotiable matter,” finds itself stuck as Naqvi has still not agreed to release the trophy.
The situation has left the BCCI with little option but to prepare an official complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The controversy stems from the post-match presentation ceremony in Dubai, when Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates refused to receive the trophy from Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s Interior Minister.
The tension has further deepened following India’s earlier decision not to shake hands with Pakistan players in the first two matches of the tournament. What should have been a celebratory moment for Indian cricket has now turned into an embarrassing standoff, exposing the BCCI’s inability to assert itself against Naqvi’s defiance.
The trophy fiasco has now snowballed into more than just a ceremonial snub—it has become a symbol of the power struggle between two of the most influential boards in world cricket.
For the BCCI, long accustomed to wielding dominance within the ACC and beyond, this episode has come as a rude reminder that not everything can be dictated on their terms.
Mohsin Naqvi’s defiance, his refusal to even acknowledge India’s victory, and his decision to hold back the trophy has left the Indian board scrambling for answers and resorting to the last resort of filing a complaint with the ICC. What was supposed to be a moment of glory for Indian cricket has instead spiralled into a diplomatic tussle that questions the BCCI’s ability to enforce its authority in Asian cricket.
With the matter still unresolved and Naqvi showing no signs of backing down, the ball is firmly in the BCCI’s court to prove whether it can rise above embarrassment and reassert itself, or continue to appear powerless in the face of the PCB chief’s calculated defiance. (PTI)
