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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali asked Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi not to “give away” the Asia Cup 2025 trophy to India if the Suryakumar Yadav-led side continues to maintain its stance of not accepting the silverware from him. The eight-team tournament came to a dramatic end on September 18, as India refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who also happens to be the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and an Interior Minister of the country.
As India refused to accept the title from him, Naqvi seemingly made his way out of the Dubai International Stadium with the trophy. After India’s five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the summit clash, the presentation ceremony was delayed by almost an hour as India refused to accept any sort of greeting from Naqvi.
Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Kuldeep Yadav received their individual awards, but the presentation ceremony came to a premature conclusion as India did not receive the trophy. However, Suryakumar and his side continued with their celebrations, completely undeterred by the incident.
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“They are the No. 1-ranked team, but their actions are third-rate. Mohsin Naqvi will present the trophy. If they refuse to accept, they would be disgraced in the eyes of the world. The trophy should not be handed over,” Ali told Pakistan’s Arynews TV.
‘You’re the No.1 team’
Basit also said that if Pakistan had refused to accept the trophy from ICC chairman Jay Shah, he would have called out Pakistan as well, as such actions set a wrong precedent.
“You’re the No.1 team, you played well and won, but what is this stubbornness? Mohsin Naqvi is the head of the Asian Cricket Council. Suppose it had been an ICC event, and Pakistan refused to accept the trophy from Jay Shah, Pakistan would have been wrong there,” said Basit.
The ACC also held a meeting earlier this week, where tempers flared between Naqvi and the BCCI representatives, Ashish Shelar and Rajeev Shukla. The PCB chairman was asked to return the trophy or get it delivered to the ACC headquarters; however, he kept deflecting from the main issue.
Naqvi then also shared a post on social media, clarifying that he didn’t apologise to the BCCI and his stance remains the same. He stated that if India wants the trophy, then the captain, Suryakumar, needs to come to the ACC headquarters and accept it from him.
The recently concluded Asia Cup also saw Indian players refusing to shake hands with Pakistani counterparts, considering what happened earlier this year. India and Pakistan played each other thrice, and this was the first meeting between the rivals on the pitch after the Pahalgam terror attack and retaliatory Operation Sindoor.
