Mohsin Naqvi wears multiple caps. To begin with, he’s Pakistan’s Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control. This job should be enough. But Naqvi is also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
This shows one thing: Naqvi’s a powerful man. And like most men to wield such power, he likes to do the bidding. So, the moment Team India decided that they wouldn’t accept the Asia Cup trophy from anyone with any allegiance to Pakistan, Naqvi decided to flex his muscle.
He halted the trophy ceremony and then, instead of allowing another ACC member to hand over the trophy to India, took off with it. As things stand, the Asia Cup trophy is at the ACC office in Dubai.
Mohsin Naqvi’s demand
In the ACC Annual General Meeting (AGM), held on September 30, Naqvi made it clear that he won’t simply hand over the Asia Cup trophy to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Two weeks later, his demand remains the same.
“As of today, the trophy is still in ACC offices in Dubai with clear instructions from Naqvi that it should not be moved or handed over to anyone without his approval and in person presence. Naqvi has given clear instructions that only he will hand over the trophy in person (whenever that happens) to the Indian team or BCCI,” a source close to Naqvi told PTI.
BCCI to take action
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia stated that a complaint would be lodged against Naqvi with the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the meetings in November. The BCCI is expected to address the issue, considering Jay Shah, the current ICC Chairman, was previously BCCI Secretary. This development could have implications for Naqvi or the PCB.
“It remains to be seen what will be the long-term ramifications for the PCB or Naqvi because the BCCI is clear he (Naqvi) didn’t have any right to insist on handing the trophy himself to the Indian team and refusing to send it to the BCCI, who were official hosts of the event,” the source added.
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