 "Harbhajan Singh has downplayed Mohsin Naqvi’s influence as he said the Asia Cup trophy will soon be in India. Image: PTI")
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s authority was questioned by former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, as he said that the Asia Cup 2025 trophy would soon be in India. Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister, has caused a crisis in the cricketing world by refusing to give the Asia Cup trophy to the Indian team after captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to take the silverware for him.
The Indian team did not want to take the trophy from the minister of a country that is “openly waging war” against India. However, Naqvi could not digest the boycott at the presentation ceremony as he took the trophy back with him to his hotel. In a subsequent ACC meeting, he also refused to give the trophy to India, saying that they can collect it from him at the Asian body’s office in Dubai .
Bhajji gives reality check to Mohsin Naqvi
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan has said that Naqvi keeping the trophy won’t make a dent in India’s successful campaign, where they beat Pakistan three times, including the final.
“A lot happened during the Asia Cup. About the handshake saga — before that, the bigger question was whether the matches should have happened at all," Harbhajan told IANS. “India won the tournament, and that is their biggest trophy.
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The legendary spinner went on to give a reality check to Naqvi as Bhajji underlined that no one can stop the trophy from coming to India.
“I don’t think Naqvi or anyone else is big enough to decide whether the trophy should be awarded or not. If not today, then tomorrow the trophy will be given, so what’s the point of keeping it aside? We have won it, and the trophy will come to us one day or another,” he added.
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Meanwhile, the ACC is expected to host another meeting of just the Test-playing nations, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, where the final call regarding the trophy would be taken.