New Delhi: Devajit Saikia, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stated that the board will officially raise concerns over the delay in handing over the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup trophy at the upcoming ICC quarterly meeting in Dubai, scheduled from November 4-7.
“I have made my position clear from BCCI’s point of view, that we’ll wait for another 2-3 days. If the trophy is not returned to us, then we’ll raise the issue in ICC’s meeting starting from November 4. We are waiting for next two days now.”
“Yes, we have sent a letter to the ACC 10 days ago. If the trophy doesn’t come, then we’ll raise our grievance to the ICC, as that is the highest body in cricket,” Saikia told IANS on Saturday.
The development follows India’s refusal to accept the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman and Pakistan’s Interior Minister, shortly after the Suryakumar Yadav-led team won the final against Salman Agha & Co. by five wickets at Dubai International Stadium on September 28.
The victory in Dubai marked India’s ninth Asia Cup title. The decision to refuse the trophy from Naqvi, who is also the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), due to earlier cross-border tensions between the two teams, resulted in chaotic scenes. India celebrated their championship win without a physical trophy or winner’s medals for the players.
Reports surfaced last month that Naqvi had informed of his intention to hand over the trophy on November 10.
The ACC chairman has reportedly offered to organise an event in Dubai this month, where the Asia Cup can be handed over to the Indian men’s cricket team. The event was proposed following an exchange of letters between the continental body and the BCCI.
Although BCCI formally wrote to the ACC to resolve the issue of the trophy and winners’ medals, the matter remains unresolved so far. Various reports suggested that Naqvi has since moved the trophy from the ACC headquarters to an undisclosed location, further complicating the standoff.
(IANS)
