There could be a clash between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting next month as PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is not backing down from his stance of personally handing over the Asia Cup trophy to India as the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
In a reply sent to the BCCI and other ACC member states, Naqvi has stressed that he is willing to organize a ceremony in Dubai on November 10, where a BCCI representative and any available player from the Indian team can collect the trophy from him. “The ACC Trophy rightfully belongs to the Indian Cricket Team and will remain at the ACC Headquarters until an official of the BCCI collects it from the ACC President along with any available participating players,” Naqvi wrote in his reply.
He said, “A grand ceremony will be organized for this because we should not deviate from the established traditions and no example should be set which weakens the spirit of the game that we all love.” ICC President is former BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. Naqvi’s reply came after BCCI wrote a letter to ACC on the Asia Cup trophy dispute.
The boards of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also supported the Indian board in this matter. This reaction clearly shows the level of mistrust and tension between BCCI and PCB. “As far as the remainder of your letter is concerned, the office of the ACC President will not indulge in petty politics aimed at appeasing select extremist groups,” Naqvi said in his reply.
“The actual position is that there was never any official communication with the ACC office or the Tournament Director highlighting BCCI’s position or concern with regard to the awards ceremony,” he said. “When the ceremony was about to begin and the distinguished guests had taken their places on the stage, the BCCI representative informed that the Indian cricket team would not be receiving the Asia Cup trophy and awards,” Naqvi said. “Efforts were made to resolve the impasse which resulted in significant delay in the ceremony.”
“The ACC President waited for about 40 minutes along with the distinguished guests to ensure that the integrity of the awards ceremony was maintained and that it was not adversely affected by politics, but this effort was in vain,” the reply said.
A reliable source in the PCB said that the legal department of the board has already been instructed to prepare a dossier so that if BCCI officials try to condemn Naqvi in the ICC board meeting, they can be responded to. BCCI has already indicated to raise this matter in the ICC meeting.