Nearly 48 hours have passed since the Asia Cup final, yet the controversy continues. Even after becoming champions, India refused to accept the trophy from the hands of ACC and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi. With Naqvi and other members present on stage, Suryakumar Yadav and team declined to receive the trophy. Following this incident, Mohsin Naqvi instructed that the trophy and medals be taken off the field. He kept the trophy with himself. Despite later apologizing, Naqvi remains unwilling to hand over the trophy. Rather, he revealed that standing on the stage on the day of the final, he felt like a cartoon.
What else did he say?
Naqvi disclosed this at ACC's annual general meeting. He claims that he was not informed beforehand that the Indian team would not accept the trophy from his hands. He was waiting on the podium to present the trophy and medals to Suryakumar and his teammates. However, with no one from the Indian team approaching, the PCB Chairman admitted feeling like a cartoon.
It's evident from Naqvi's words that Pakistan couldn't digest India's response. Unable to tolerate this perceived insult, he left the field with the trophy and medals. However, the Indian team reportedly demanded the swift return of the trophy.
BCCI sources reveal that Rajeev Shukla and Ashish Shelar attended the ACC meeting. There, they suggested keeping the trophy at ACC's Dubai office and handing it over to India from there. In that meeting, the Indian side further argued that since it's ACC's trophy, not anyone's personal property, it's the organizers' duty to hand over the title to the champion team. Naqvi, however, did not respond to this.
He evaded the issue, stating that discussions on this matter would take place in a future meeting. However, the BCCI representatives also conveyed in the meeting that India would file a complaint with the ICC regarding this incident.
