India Refuses Asia Cup Trophy From Mohsin Naqvi; Ceremony Delayed Amid Tensions

Asia Cup champions India on Sunday refused to accept the winners' trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's interior minister and head of the Pakistan Cricket Board. As Naqvi stood ready for the presentation ceremony, the Indian players remained nearly 15 yards away, unwilling to move forward, which led to an unusual delay in proceedings.

According to reports, the Indian team management specifically asked who would be presenting the trophy, and once it became clear that Naqvi was the designated presenter, ACC officials found themselves in a dilemma. The champions had made it clear that his involvement was unacceptable.

When Naqvi eventually stepped onto the stage, Indian fans in the stands broke into loud boos, chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai." Indian players conveyed to organisers that they would not accept the trophy from Naqvi, warning that any attempt to force the issue would lead to an official protest. Eventually, the organisers quietly took the trophy into the Indian dressing room instead of conducting the usual presentation on stage.

This was not the first sign of tension. Throughout the tournament, the Indian team had avoided shaking hands with Pakistani players and skipped the customary pre-toss photographs. Their stance left no doubt that they would not take the trophy directly from the ACC chairman.

The embarrassment for Naqvi deepened as Pakistani players themselves did not leave their dressing room for almost an hour after the match. With the ACC chairman stranded on stage, the presentation ceremony ground to a halt. When Pakistan's captain Salman Ali Agha and his teammates finally appeared nearly 55 minutes later, they were met with resounding chants of "Indiaaa, Indiaaa" from the crowd.

Naqvi had already drawn Indian ire after sharing cryptic videos online showing Cristiano Ronaldo's "plane crash" celebration, seen as a nod to Pakistan's claims of downing Indian fighter jets during "Operation Sindoor." He has also been pushing the ICC to charge Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav with a Level 4 offence for expressing solidarity with the Indian Army and victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

With PTI Inputs