‘Ice has been broken,’ says BCCI’s Saikia on Asia Cup trophy saga

KARACHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia on Saturday revealed that they have begun to negotiate with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to resolve the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 trophy’s deadlock.

Saikia, in an interview with an Indian news agency, revealed that he had an informal meeting with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the sidelines of the ICC quarterly meeting in Dubai.

The BCCI Secretary affirmed that although the trophy row was not a part of the board meeting’s agenda, the apex body facilitated a meeting between the high-ups of the rival cricket boards.

"I was a part of both the informal and formal meeting of the ICC. PCB chairperson Mohsin Naqvi was also present. During the course of a formal meeting, it was not on agenda but ICC facilitated a meeting between myself and the PCB chief separately in the presence of a senior ICC office-bearer and another senior official," Saikia told the news agency.

"It was really good to start the process of negotiation. Both sides cordially participated in the meeting which took place on the sidelines of the ICC board meet," he added.

Saikia further shared that the “ice has been broken” over the dispute and both cricket boards will work in collaboration to solve the issue at the earliest.

“Both sides will work out something to solve the issue at the earliest. The ice has been broken now, so various options will be worked out,” Saikia continued.

“There will be options from the other side as well, and we will also give options on how to settle this issue and come to an amicable solution,” he added.

For the unversed, the trophy saga arose when the Indian men’s cricket team chose not to collect their winners’ medals and silverware following their victory in the Asia Cup 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 29.

The closing ceremony, which started after an hour-long delay, saw India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Tilak Varma collect individual awards for their performances, while Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha received the runners-up prize money.

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

However, the ceremony concluded without the Indian team receiving the winner’s trophy.