The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received a massive boost in its attempt to bring the Asia Cup 2025 trophy back to India as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has once again refused to hand over the silverware to the Men In Blue.
India won the Asia Cup 2025 by beating Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 in September, but Naqvi took the trophy back to the ACC office in Dubai after Suryakumar Yadav and Co refused to join the Pakistani politician on the podium.
The BCCI tried to close the chapter on 30 September after the Asian cricket boards met for an ACC meeting, but Naqvi, who is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), refused to relent. The trophy is still locked up in the ACC office, with Naqvi instructing employees not to touch the trophy without his approval.
After ACC failed to find a resolution in September, it has been decided that the five Test-playing nations – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – will meet again in early November to bring an end to the fiasco.
BCCI receives Afghan boost in battle vs Naqvi
There were rumours that while BCCI enjoys the support of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is firmly in Pakistan’s corner and Afghanistan is yet to pick a side. But the latest reports indicate that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has now thrown its weight behind India.
As per a report in news agency PTI, BCCI, along with representatives of Sri Lanka Cricket and Afghanistan, wrote a letter to Naqvi last week, asking him to hand over the trophy to India.
“The BCCI secretary (Devajit Saikia), BCCI’s ACC representative Rajeev Shukla and representatives of other member boards, including Sri Lanka Cricket and Afghanistan, had written to the ACC president last week over handing the trophy to India,” an ACC source said.
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More ShortsNaqvi, in response, once again said that the BCCI could personally collect the trophy from him, while also complaining that he had not been informed in advance about India’s boycott of the trophy ceremony.
“It was only when the Ceremony was about to take place and distinguished guests had taken their place on the stage that the BCCI’s representative conveyed that the Indian Cricket Team would not be receiving the Asia Cup Trophy and awards,” stated the ACC letter to the BCCI.
“The ACC president waited along with the distinguished guests for approximately 40 minutes to ensure that the integrity of the presentation ceremony was preserved and was not adversely affected by politics, but in vain,” it added.
Nonetheless, Afghanistan giving support to BCCI could prove to be crucial if the Indian board decides to take any action against Naqvi at the ICC or ACC. There are reports that BCCI could make an attempt to remove Naqvi from the ICC board in November as a result of the Asia Cup trophy row.
It’s not a surprise that Afghanistan has decided to support India, as three of their domestic cricketers recently lost their lives after an alleged air strike from Pakistan.