Ex-Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has lashed out at Mohsin Naqvi for walking away with the Asia Cup trophy and not returning it to the actual winners Team India. The furore broke out after India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final match on September 28 at the Dubai International Stadium.
The trophy presentation after the game took a turn for the worse when Suryakumar Yadav and his team refused to receive the trophy from Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) as well as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The standoff lasted for an hour, with Naqvi said to have stood his ground and refused to move, which led to the end of the ceremony abruptly.
Whereas Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Kuldeep Yadav were each awarded on an individual basis, the Asia Cup trophy itself was never officially handed over to India. Naqvi was next spotted exiting the ground with the trophy. The silverware is now being kept at the ACC headquarters, although Naqvi has made clear his desire to hand it over to India in the future.
Responding to the episode, Harbhajan Singh, popularly known as the “Turbanator,” gave a blunt response. He criticized Naqvi’s actions, saying that such drama doesn’t hold any value and that Naqvi is not in a position to judge whether India should or should not take home the trophy.
“A lot happened during the Asia Cup. About the handshake saga — before that, the bigger question was whether the matches should have happened at all,” News18 quoted Harbhajan Singh.
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“India won the tournament, and that is their biggest trophy. I don’t think Naqvi or anyone else is big enough to decide whether the trophy should be awarded or not. If not today, then tomorrow the trophy will be given, so what’s the point of keeping it aside? We have won it, and the trophy will come to us one day or another,” he added.
