Rajiv Shukla’s trophy request denied by Mohsin Naqvi at ACC meeting: sources

DUBAI: The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting held in Dubai, chaired by ACC President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, witnessed an unusual development concerning the Asia Cup 2025 trophy, sources told Geo News on Tuesday.

According to sources, Rajiv Shukla, vice-President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), reportedly requested the trophy from Naqvi. 

“This item was not on the ACC meeting agenda,” Naqvi clarified. 

Sources said Shukla insisted on taking the trophy, but Naqvi maintained his stance: “If the Indian team wants the trophy, the captain can come to the ACC office and collect it from me.”

No formal decision was made regarding the handover of the trophy to India.

The Indian men’s cricket team did not collect their winners’ medals or the trophy after their victory in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The incident followed a brief standoff between the ACC and the Indian team, who reportedly refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi. 

The closing ceremony, originally scheduled immediately after the match, began with a one-hour delay.

Indian players Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma received individual awards for their performances in the final, while Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha collected the runners-up prize money. 

Kuldeep Yadav was later presented with the award for the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, and Abhishek Sharma was named Player of the Tournament for scoring 314 runs in seven innings at an average of 44.85.

The ceremony concluded without the winning team receiving the Asia Cup trophy. 

Presenter Simon Doull confirmed, “I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight. So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”

For the unversed, the men in blue secured a hard-fought five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash. Pakistan, put into bat first, managed a below-par total of 146 in 19.1 overs. 

Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century gave Pakistan an early advantage, but a crucial wicket by Kuldeep Yadav triggered a collapse, with Pakistan losing their remaining eight wickets for just 33 runs in 38 balls.