Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asia Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday refuted claims by Indian media that he had apologised to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a row over the trophy handover at the Asia Cup final.
The closing ceremony of the men’s Asia Cup descended into farce on Sunday as the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from the ACC chief, marking a historic low in cricketing relations between the two countries.
Later, it was alleged by Indian media that Naqvi had himself refused to hand the trophy over to the Indian team.
Today, Indian outlets, including IndiaToday, Financial Express and Hindustan Times, reported that Naqvi had now apologised to the BCCI, but that still refused to hand them the trophy.
Responding to an India Today post about their report, Naqvi stated, “Indian media thrives on lies, not facts. Let me make it absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong and I have never apologised to the BCCI nor will I ever do so.”
He called the claims “fabricated nonsense” and “cheap propaganda”, saying it was aimed at misleading Indian people.
The PCB chairman slammed India for continuing to “drag politics into cricket, damaging the very spirit of the game”.
“As ACC chairman, I was ready to hand over the trophy that very day and I am still ready now,” he said. “If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me.”
During the Asia Cup, Naqvi had previously expressed disappointment over the “lack of sportsmanship” from the Indian side, after Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav seemingly politicised the win by dedicating it to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in May.
Earlier this year, a brief but intense military escalation erupted after India launched air strikes in Pakistan over the Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan denied involvement, and the crisis eased following US intervention. Since then, relations have become exceedingly sour between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
More to follow
