1 Oct 2025 : It’s been three days since the Asia Cup 2025 concluded but the controversies around it are nowhere near cessation. India beat Pakistan in the final of the tournament to win the title for the ninth time. However, the post-match script was combusted by a presentation ceremony that turned into a cold war over who hands what to whom.
At the heart of it all is the ACC president and PCB chief, Mohsin Naqvi. A stormy ACC meeting in Dubai, days after the final, has added to the already existing fire. The fact that the medals and the trophy are still not in the Indian hands has left a part of the administrators fuming. And the longjam seems to continue with no concrete outcome from a meeting between ACC and the BCCI that took place virtually on Tuesday.
A source revealed to Hindustan Times –
“Naqvi’s behavior in the meeting was totally unbecoming of an ACC chairman. His opening remarks didn’t include a congratulatory message for India for winning the Asia Cup. He only did so after being pointed out by Ashish Shelar repeatedly. He had no intention of talking about India’s win and the missing trophy. The BCCI pointed out that they will take care of logistics; he just needs to get the medals and silverware delivered to ACC headquarters, but he kept deflecting.”
Notably, there was a delay of nearly an hour after the final match of the tournament before the presentation ceremony. It was later learned that the wait was due to Naqvi being persistent in handing over the trophy himself to the winners, despite India not agreeing to the same. However, the ceremony went on after that, and India celebrated their win without the silverware.
The battle beyond the cricket field
The presentation ceremony standoff did not arrive in a vacuum. Throughout the tournament, India maintained a no-handshake protocol with Pakistan, which triggered former players, experts, influencers, and the general population to talk about it.
What started as a stance of solidarity by the Indian team soon transformed into a dirty and cheap gesturing game by the Pakistan players on the field. Players being fined for their conduct on and off the field, to two different toss representatives interviewing the captains on the night of the final, everything kept adding to the tense narrative.
With all said and done, and probably the most hostile Asia Cup now over, it looks like BCCI now wants a clean, protocol-sound transfer of medals and the trophy via the ACC channels. Mohsin Naqvi, however, remains the fulcrum of the ceremony of fiasco. Whatever turns out to be the ultimate outcome, the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup will be remembered as much for governance theatre as for India’s win.
Summary:
In a controversial move at the ACC meeting, Mohsin Naqvi rejected BCCI’s proposal to return the Asia Cup trophy, leaving India empty-handed and sparking outrage over his unacceptable conduct.