Mumbai: Chances of the Asia Cup trophy impasse coming to the end have brightened following consultation between officials of the India and Pakistan cricket boards in Dubai on the sidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC) board meeting on Friday. At an informal meeting, both sides have discussed ways to chart out a solution.
BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, told HT: “Since the meeting was formally not on the ICC agenda, they facilitated an informal meeting between myself representing BCCI and PCB chairperson Mohsin Naqvi. We met for an hour. Both sides are very positive to work out a solution to this stalemate. We are working on various options which will be provided by both sides in the coming days. With a positive attitude, I am confident we will be able to settle sooner than expected.”
The trophy row has prolonged since September 28 when India after winning the T20 Asia Cup tournament in Dubai refused to receive the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan.
Not willing to offer Naqvi the stage at a tournament being held amid political tension in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and military conflict that followed between India and Pakistan, BCCI wanted another ACC representative to hand over the trophy. Naqvi held his ground and the Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav returned home without the trophy.
{{/usCountry}}Not willing to offer Naqvi the stage at a tournament being held amid political tension in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and military conflict that followed between India and Pakistan, BCCI wanted another ACC representative to hand over the trophy. Naqvi held his ground and the Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav returned home without the trophy.
{{/usCountry}}The matter flared up at the last ACC meeting on September 30 when BCCI representatives Ashish Shelar and Rajeev Shukla got Naqvi to congratulate the Indian team on their winning performance in his opening remarks and then walked out threatening to take up the matter at the ICC forum. It was discussed in the meeting that efforts be made to resolve the trophy imbroglio among ICC member boards in the ACC – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
At the Asia Cup, the Indian team also did not shake hands with Pakistan players during their three matches. There was no discussion on the no-handshake policy, it is understood. The two teams will face-off next in the 2026 T20 World Cup early next year.