BCCI Fires Fresh Warning To Mohsin Naqvi Over Asia Cup Trophy Row: Sources

The prolonged stand-off over the Asia Cup trophy is showing no signs of an end, with Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief, still holding the silverware. Sources have told NDTV that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has fired a fresh warning to Naqvi, asking him to hand over the trophy to India or risk the matter being escalated to the International Cricket Council (ICC) during next month's meeting.

The original controversy erupted when the Indian team, citing heightened geopolitical tensions and Naqvi's prominent role as a leader in the Pakistani government, refused to accept the trophy from him at the post-match presentation ceremony in Dubai. Naqvi, who is also the Chairman of the PCB and Pakistan's Interior Minister, took the trophy from the ceremony and locked it in his Dubai office.

The resolution has been further complicated by a set of trophy handover demands put forward by Naqvi. BCCI sources have confirmed that Naqvi's demands of getting a player to take the trophy cannot be met. This refers to his reported insistence that a formal function be organised where the India T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, would personally collect the trophy from him, a condition the BCCI is unwilling to accept, maintaining that the trophy and winners' medals should be sent to the ACC headquarters for official collection.

The Indian board, reportedly, also has the support of the Afghanistan and Sri Lanka boards in the matter. Yet, Naqvi hasn't budged. 

BCCI officials have consistently argued that the trophy is the property of the ACC and not an individual's personal possession.

With the deadlock showing no sign of an amicable end, the power struggle is set to move to the global stage. NDTV has reliably learned that the BCCI is all set to raise this issue in the ICC meeting in Dubai in November. The Indian board plans to lodge a formal and strong protest against the ACC Chairman's conduct during the final and his subsequent refusal to ensure the timely return of the winner's trophy and medals to the Indian team.

The BCCI has further warned Naqvi against complaining about the Indian Board to ICC board members. Naqvi had claimed that he was made to look like a 'joker' on the Asia Cup dais after the final, waiting for the Indian team to come up to him and collect the trophy.

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