BCCI representative leaves ACC meeting midway in protest after confronting Mohsin Naqvi over Asia Cup trophy
BCCI's representative Ashish Shelar left the ACC meeting midway on Tuesday in protest after receiving no clarity from ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi on when India will be handed over the Asia Cup 2025 trophy and their winners' medals.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) representative Ashish Shelar left the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting midway in protest over the Asia Cup trophy standoff with the ACC and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi. The Indian players are yet to receive their winners' medals and the Asia Cup 2025 trophy after beating Pakistan by 5 wickets in the final on Sunday.
After India refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's interior minister, the ACC chief walked away with the trophy to his hotel. As a result, the Indian players had to celebrate their memorable triumph without the silverware and their medals. The drama over the Asia Cup trophy reached the ACC boardroom as the Indian representatives confronted Naqvi in the meeting.
Former BCCI treasurer Shelar and Rajeev Shukla represented BCCI in the meeting, attending it online. The duo confronted Naqvi over not handing over the trophy to India and insisted that a solution should be reached soon. The Indian representatives also reiterated that BCCI will lodge a complaint against Naqvi over his actions.
As per a report in the Indian Express, Shelar exited the ACC meeting midway in protest after ACC chief Naqvi, who was presiding over the meeting, failed to provide clarity over when the Asia Cup trophy will be handed over to India. Shelar also informed the ACC members that the BCCI has written to ACC about the matter, but is yet to receive a reply from the continental body.
"Shelar informed members that the BCCI secretary Devajit Sakia has already written to ACC about the same but there has been no response. The BCCI wants the trophy and medals to be delivered to ACC’s office in Dubai from where the Indian board will get it collected. However, Shelar didn’t get a positive response for the same. So Shelar and Shukla decided to quit the meeting, marking their protest," a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
However, as per Cricbuzz, Shelar later rejoined the meeting and it was decided that five full members of the ACC - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will meet offline in a conclave to break the deadlock over the Asia Cup trophy.
Mohsin Naqvi refused to congratulate India
As per Cricbuzz, Naqvi, who was left embarrassed on the presentation dais during the post-match presentation ceremony following the Asia Cup 2025 final, refused to formally congratulate during the ACC meeting on Tuesday. Naqvi waited for 15-20 minutes on the dais despite the Indian team making it clear that they won't accept the trophy from him.
In the end, he left with the trophy after the Indian players stuck to their stand of no handshake or engagement policy with their Pakistani counterparts during the tournament. On Tuesday, Naqvi congratulated Mongolia on getting ICC membership and Nepal for beating West Indies during the ACC meeting, however, he refused to mention India.
It was only after Shelar's intervention that the ACC chief relentingly greeted India and acknowledged their Asia Cup 2025 victory. Shukla reportedly ripped into Naqvi during the ACC meet, confronting him over his actions, categorically mentioning that the Asia Cup trophy is an ACC property that doesn't belong to any individual.