The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to escalate the Asia Cup trophy handover issue to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The Asia Cup is currently at the office of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in Dubai. The Indian team had refused to collect the trophy from ACC President Mohsin Naqvi at the presentation event after winning the final against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 28.
According to the BCCI, Naqvi, who’s also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, had stated that the trophy could be collected from the Dubai office.
The development comes after BCCI wrote an official email to the ACC, urging Naqvi to hand over the trophy to champions India. In response, Naqvi remained firm in his stance, urging the BCCI to send an official and a player to collect the trophy from the headquarters of the Asian cricket body in Dubai.
A top BCCI source told India Today that, with the ACC chief remaining adamant, the board plans to raise the matter at the upcoming ICC meeting. “We will not accept his response regarding the trophy handover,” the source said.
The ICC board meeting, scheduled from December 4 to 7 in Dubai, will be the platform to discuss the issue in detail.
Despite these demands, the standoff continues. The BCCI has also found allies in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, whose cricket boards have urged Naqvi to release the trophy.
Earlier, reports from Pakistan had suggested that Naqvi’s stance had softened. The PCB chief was reportedly planning to hold an official trophy handover ceremony on November 10, in an effort to resolve the lingering controversy and bring the matter to a close.
