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BCCI explodes at Mohsin Naqvi for taking Asia Cup silverware to his hotel: ‘Can’t collect trophy from a person who…’
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia didn't hold back and slammed ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi's "unsportsmanlike" act of walking away with the Asia Cup trophy and medals.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has hit back at Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi after he ran away with the Asia Cup trophy despite India winning the title. Suryakumar Yadav and Co. battled hard to overcome arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, but despite the victory, the trophy eluded them in the end. In yet another fiery India–Pakistan clash at the Asia Cup, the Men in Blue maintained their stand by refusing the customary handshake with their rivals and also chose not to receive the trophy from ACC president Naqvi, who doubles as PCB chief and a minister in Pakistan. He is known for his vocal anti-India stand, and the Men in Blue took a firm stand against Pakistan in the tournament.
Saikia strongly criticised ACC chief Naqvi's conduct during the Asia Cup trophy ceremony, explaining why India refused to accept the trophy and vowing a formal protest over the incident.
"India is fighting a war with a country, and a leader belonging to that country was supposed to hand over the trophy to us...We cannot accept a trophy from a person who represents a country that is waging a war against our country. So we have refused to take that trophy, but that does not mean that the gentleman will take the trophy and the medals, which are to be given to our country, to his own hotel room. That is totally unexpected, and we hope that his good sense will prevail. We are going to lodge a very strong protest against the behaviour of the gentleman in today's prize distribution ceremony," Saikia told ANI.
Also Read - Suryakumar Yadav mocks trophy snub with Rohit-style celebration after Asia Cup win, only thing missing was silverware
“BCCI to launch a very serious protest against ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi”
Saikia didn't hold back and slammed the ACC chief's "unsportsmanlike" act of walking away with the Asia Cup trophy and medals.
"We have decided not to take the Asia Cup 2025 trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan. So we decided not to take it from him. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him, along with the medals. So it is very unfortunate and unsportsmanlike, and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible," he added.
Meanwhile, Tilak Varma was the hero of India's hard-fought win, where they chased down a 147-run target in Dubai. Tilak smashed an unbeaten 69 off 53, stabilising the chase when things were not going well for India, with wickets kept tumbling from the other end. Rinku Singh, playing his first ball of the Asia Cup, struck the winning runs - a boundary - to seal the win for India.
