The PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi landed at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Friday afternoon (November 7). Though there had been doubts over his participation given his track record over the past few months, Naqvi eventually arrived at the gathering.
Discussions among members, according to Cricbuzz, remained largely cordial even when the contentious issue of the Asia Cup cropped up. Representatives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, reportedly raised the issue of the Asia Cup trophy, which Naqvi ran away with. The Indian board held the view that, since the Indian team had won it, the trophy should be returned to them without any more delay.
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India’s representative on the ICC Board, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, reportedly reiterated this stance in informal conversations among the members and not during a formal session of the meeting. Even though no official panel to tackle the issue has been formed yet but its formation is likely if the issue is not sorted out.
The position that the BCCI has taken is one thing: the Asia Cup trophy should immediately go to India. It is widely known that the silverware is presently locked in the ACC office in Dubai, reportedly under Naqvi’s instructions not to move it without his explicit approval.
Naqvi, also a minister in the Pakistan government, is understood to have faced pressure from fellow cricket administrators for holding back the trophy from India who defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup final held in Dubai on September 28.
While Saikia and other Indian officials were not immediately available for comment, sources indicated ICC Board members broadly agreed that the matter should be settled as soon as possible.
