Mohsin Naqvi Locks Up Asia Cup 2025 Trophy In Dubai Office, Refuses To Hand It To India

The tensions between both India and Pakistan have continued to mount even after the Asia Cup final when the Pakistan Cricket board chairman and interior minister Mohsin Naquvi allegedly locked the trophy in the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) office in Dubai on a condition that it cannot be moved and should not be handed over to India without his personal involvement. 

Mohsin Naqvi Refuses To Hand Asia Cup 2025 Trophy To India

According to reports, once India won over Pakistan on the final day on September 28, the trophy was to be awarded to the Indian side. Instead, Naqvi removed it off the stage and took it personally, sparking a diplomatic and sporting scandal. New regulations are that the trophy should be kept under lock and key at the ACC headquarters until the time when Naqvi can show up to receive it. This gesture is perceived as more than a symbolic one. This standoff of the trophy raises the tensions in a tournament that already has political undertones. It is being reported that the BCCI will be ready to take the issue to the ICC board, and may want Naqvi to either be censured or even want him to resign his directorship position in the ICC. 

Mohsin Naqvi Locks Up Asia Cup 2025 Trophy In Dubai Office

Indian players especially did not use customary gestures such as the exchange of handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts especially during the Asia Cup event where the relations were already strained. Naqvi, on his part had also published controversial political utterances online in the course of the tournament which were sharply met with by the Indian camp. At least the trophy is in suspense in Dubai. As long as Naqvi decides not to hand it over, it is a case of unnecessary politicization of sport by many in Indian cricket circles. This issue might continue to grow in the future during the ICC board meetings. Asia cup which is supposed to be the celebration of cricket in Asia has turned out to be the platform of a wider diplomatic and sporting tension.

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