Dubai: Did Pakistani interior minister and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi walk away with the Asia Cup trophy on Sunday after Team India refused to receive it from him?
The media is now abuzz on why the ACC did not have a ‘Plan-B’ in place when it was aware that the Indian team would not accept the trophy from Naqvi if it won the final match against Pakistan.
After Rinku Singh struck the winning runs, the victorious Indian team was unable to celebrate with the trophy despite being the most standout unit in the entire tournament. As the clock struck midnight, there were no signs of the post-match presentation ceremony. Even Ravi Shastri wondered about the delay while discussing the match on ‘Extra Innings’.
While some claimed that it had to do with India’s decision to not accept the trophy Naqvi, others blamed the delay on the Pakistan team.
Everything was heading smoothly as per plan after the match ended. The Indian players were overjoyed and spoke to the broadcasters after the match, with Rinku Singh, Shubhman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, and even Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel sharing their thoughts.
So, what went wrong?
The Indians returned to their hotel empty-handed. The presentation ceremony was finally held after a one-hour-long delay and the presenter Simon Doull announced: “The ACC has informed us that India will not be collecting their trophy tonight”.
Insiders claim that what happened thereafter was a new low that Pakistan and its cricketing representatives stooped to. After the presentation ceremony, Naqvi apparently left the stadium with the trophy as the Indian winning team celebrated the victory by themselves.
According to Hindustan Times, the chaos started soon after the match ended. Naqvi and the Indian team were already on stage waiting. But Pakistan remained absent, retiring inside their dressing room. Naqvi, phone in hand, appeared to be having an animated conversation while the delay dragged on. When Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha finally stepped out, accompanied by Mike Hesson and the team manager, the crowd responded with loud boos. Moments later, more Pakistan players followed, some casually walking out in flip-flops, drawing even more jeers.
Naqvi was bombarded with boos and even ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ chants. It was also decided that Khalid Al Zarooni, the vice-chairman of the Emirates Cricket Board, would present the trophy to India, but surprisingly, plans changed at the last moment. The Pakistan team collected their medals first as Naqvi was sidelined on the stage. Agha even threw the runners-up cheque before walking up to answer questions.
When it was the Indian team’s turn to collect the trophy, Doull made the announcement. Reports suggest that Naqvi left the stadium with the trophy as he did not want to see India get photographed with it.
Asia Cup 2025 now joins an infamous list of tournaments where there was no shortage of bad blood between India and Pakistan. It brought back memories of the 1999 World Cup, which coincided with the Kargil War, or the next edition in 2003, when tensions escalated and peaked between the two teams.
However, none of those can be compared to the hostility shared by India and Pakistan over the last three weeks.
