ISLAMABAD: An arbitration may take place in case the Indian cricket team formally asks for the Asia Cup Trophy after refusing to accept it on Sunday night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The team had decided not to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s cricket board chief and the country's interior minister.
The two South Asian neighbors fought a brief but intense war in May after India attacked Pakistan, accusing it of orchestrating a terror attack on its territory. Their cricket teams met three times amid visible tensions among players and spectators.
“I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” broadcaster Simon Doull caught many by surprise when he first broke the news during a live coverage of the Pakistan-India match.
Indian team’s stand and BCCI’s protest
Indian Team captain Suryakumar Yadav said the decision not to accept the trophy was made collectively on the field and was not directed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or political authorities.
Naqvi had walked away with the trophy after waiting for an hour to deliver it to the Indian team, which defeated Pakistan in the final match.
“This is something I’ve never seen in cricket—a champion team being denied a trophy,” Yadav told reporters. “But our real trophies are the 14 players and the support staff who got us here. That’s what we’ll take home tonight,” he added.
Secretary Devajit Saikia congratulated the team and assured them that the board would lodge a formal complaint to get the trophy.
“There is an ICC conference scheduled in Dubai this November, and we will launch a very serious and strong protest against the actions of the ACC Chairman,” Saikia said.
“We cannot accept a trophy from someone who represents a nation currently at odds with ours. But that does not mean the gentleman is entitled to walk away with the trophy and medals meant for our team. That is completely unacceptable.”
Naqvi’s befitting response to Modi
Soon after India defeated Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened the cricket victory to the military operation against Pakistan.
"Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same – India wins! Congrats to our cricketers,” Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Mohsin Naqvi responded sharply, saying, “If war is your measure of pride, history already records your humiliating defeats at Pakistan’s hands. No cricket match can rewrite that truth. Dragging war into sport only exposes desperation and disgraces the very spirit of the game.”
What do the rules say?
A senior official familiar with ICC procedures noted, “This is unprecedented in cricket. Unless the ACC clarifies its position, the matter could escalate further at the ICC level.”
With no formal statement yet from the ACC or ICC, the fate of the 2025 Asia Cup trophy remains uncertain. Whether it will eventually be handed to India or withheld pending diplomatic and administrative resolution remains to be seen.
For now, cricket’s biggest regional prize sits unclaimed, a symbol of deeper tensions between the two countries both on and off the field.
