Dubai and New Delhi: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has denied claims that he apologized to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the Asia Cup 2025 trophy. This has made the matter much worse.
On Wednesday, Naqvi posted on X (previously Twitter):
“Let me be very clear: I have done nothing wrong, and I have never apologised to the BCCI and never will.” I was ready to give the trophy to the ACC President that day, and I’m still ready now. They can come to the ACC office and get it from me if they really want it.
The Controversy Over the Trophy
The fight started on Sunday when Naqvi left with the Asia Cup trophy after the Indian cricket team, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to take it from him after they beat Pakistan in the final. Since then, some sources have said that Naqvi apologized to BCCI officials at the ACC Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday.
Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control, strongly denied these charges, saying that he did the right thing as ACC chairman.
BCCI’s Strong Disapproval
During the AGM, BCCI members Ashish Shelar and Rajeev Shukla strongly disagreed with the fact that the trophy was not officially given to the Indian squad. Naqvi is said to have told BCCI officials that he would give the trophy to the players, but the meeting concluded without a clear decision.
The BCCI is now anticipated to bring the issue up with the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its next meeting in November 2025.
Tensions are rising outside of cricket.
The disagreement makes the already tense relationship between the cricket bodies of India and Pakistan even worse. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was angry earlier in the competition because they said India had a “no handshake policy” with Pakistani players during games.
The political situation made things even worse. India won all three of its games against Pakistan at the Asia Cup. Off the field, people talked about the Pakistan-backed Pahalgam terror incident in April that murdered 26 tourists in Kashmir and India’s response, Operation Sindoor, during the event.