PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi refuses to hand over Asia Cup trophy, tells Suryakumar Yadav to collect it personally

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi refused to hand over the winner’s trophy to India. Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), told India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav to personally collect the trophy from the ACC office, Pakistani media reported. 

He, however, has apologised to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the Asia Cup trophy row on Sunday after the Indian team was not allowed to celebrate their win with the trophy on the field, India Today reported, citing sources. Naqvi acknowledged that the situation should not have taken such a turn.

After India refused to take the trophy and medals from Naqvi during the final, the ACC chief scrapped the post-match presentation ceremony and ordered officials to remove them from the ground.

The drama began on Sunday night after India’s victory over Pakistan in the final. Despite their win, the Indian players were left waiting for more than an hour as the presentation ceremony stalled. Chaos broke out when ACC officials removed the trophy and medals from the ground, leaving the Indian team stranded on stage.

The Indian side had earlier made it clear that they did not want to receive the trophy from Naqvi, citing India’s tense relations with Pakistan. They had requested that the presentation be done by the vice-chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board. Naqvi, however, refused the request.

Reacting late Sunday night, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia condemned the PCB chief’s actions.
"We have decided not to accept the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the senior leaders of Pakistan. That was a conscious decision," Saikia said.

"This does not give him the right to take the trophy and the medals with him. It is extremely unfortunate and unsportsmanlike. We hope the trophy and medals will be returned to India as soon as possible," he added.

On Tuesday, fresh reports from Pakistan claimed that Naqvi again rejected BCCI’s demand for the trophy. During an ACC meeting in Dubai, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla asked multiple times for the cup to be handed over. 

Naqvi replied that the issue was not on the meeting’s agenda and insisted that if India wanted the trophy, their captain would need to come to the ACC office to collect it.

Sources said BCCI officials, who joined the meeting virtually, were angered by Naqvi’s stand and argued the trophy should instead be sent to the International Cricket Council (ICC) headquarters. No decision was made during the meeting. The BCCI is expected to take the matter to the ICC in their next meeting.