Asia Cup trophy row deepens as BCCI protests at ACC meeting

The controversy over India's missing Asia Cup trophy and medals escalated on Wednesday after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) representatives staged a protest during the Asian Cricket Council's (ACC) annual meeting.

Former BCCI treasurer and ex-officio Ashish Shelar walked out of the online meeting midway, frustrated at the lack of clarity on when the Indian team would receive the winner's trophy and medals they earned by beating Pakistan in Sunday's final.

According to sources, Shelar raised the issue directly with ACC president and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi but received no satisfactory response. "Shelar informed members that BCCI secretary Devajit Sakia has already written to the ACC about the matter but there has been no response. The BCCI wants the trophy and medals to be delivered to ACC's Dubai office from where they can collect them. However, no positive reply came, so Shelar and Rajeev Shukla quit the meeting in protest," a top BCCI official told The Indian Express.

The stand-off follows the bizarre scenes in Dubai after the Asia Cup final, where India refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan's interior minister. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and his players objected to Naqvi presenting the awards, citing his history of anti-India remarks. Instead, India proposed neutral figures like UAE's Khalid Al Zarooni or Bangladesh's Aminul Islam to hand over the prize, but Naqvi rejected the suggestion outright.

As a result, the Indian players stood on the ground for nearly an hour, waiting in vain for a resolution. Naqvi eventually left the stadium with the trophy in hand, leading the Indian team to improvise mock celebrations with imaginary silverware.

Suryakumar later described the extraordinary situation: "We didn't close the door and sit inside the dressing room. We didn't make anyone wait for the presentation ceremony. Trophy leke bhaag gaye woh (They ran away with the trophy). That's what I saw."

Naqvi, meanwhile, admitted at Tuesday's ACC meeting in Dubai that he "felt like a cartoon" and was "embarrassed" while waiting on the dais for the Indian players. Yet, he continued to insist that the matter should not be discussed in the AGM, pushing it to another time.

The dispute also carried into the meeting itself. Naqvi's opening remarks congratulated Nepal on their win over West Indies and welcomed Mongolia to the ACC, but he failed to mention India's Asia Cup triumph. Only after Shelar questioned him did Naqvi begrudgingly congratulate the champions.

BCCI officials remain firm in their demand that the trophy be deposited at the ACC headquarters, while also preparing to escalate the matter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) if required.

The dramatic post-match presentation had already drawn criticism after Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha refused to shake hands with Suryakumar at the toss and later threw away his runners-up cheque before walking off stage.

During the curtailed ceremony, Bangladesh board chief Aminul Islam handed the runners-up medals to Pakistan, while India's Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma collected their individual awards from other officials— pointedly ignoring Naqvi. His only role that evening was to present the runners-up cheque to Agha.

With both sides sticking to their positions, the Asia Cup 2025 trophy saga shows no sign of ending soon, threatening to overshadow India's ninth continental triumph.