BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia once again expressed concern over Team India not being handed the Asia Cup trophy even after a significant delay. Notably, after defeating Pakistan in the high-voltage final, Team India refused to take the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, who is the chief of both the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). This led to the post-match ceremony being delayed for over an hour and eventually the Men in Blue weren't handed the trophy despite deservedly winning the final.
Saikia's warning for Naqvi
Saikia has now issued a final warning to Naqvi and has also provided him with an ultimatum. He said that the BCCI will wait for one more day for the trophy to be delivered to them in Mumbai before they raise the issue at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) quarterly meeting that is set to be held in Dubai.
“Ten days ago, we wrote to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairperson, requesting that the trophy be handed over to the BCCI at the earliest. However, till today, we have not received it," Saikia told ANI.
“If we do not get the trophy by November 3, a meeting will be held at the ICC headquarters in Dubai, where we will raise our grievance before the apex body of international cricket. We are sure the ICC will do justice and help India get the trophy at the earliest," he added.
In an earlier statement, Saikia had assured that the trophy will eventually come to India as they have deservedly won it and everything is on record.
“On behalf of BCCI, we are fully prepared how to deal with the matter and I can assure the people of India that the trophy will come back to India, only the timeline is not fixed. One day it will come. We have won all matches against Pakistan and won the trophy. We have won the championship. Everything is on record. Only the trophy is missing. I hope good sense will prevail,' Saikia had told PTI.
India's dominance over Pakistan in Asia Cup
Meanwhile, India had once again asserted their dominance over Pakistan during the Asia Cup. They went on to defeat their arch-rivals a total of three times in the tournament including the all-important final. The Men in Blue remained unbeaten throughout the Asia Cup and should have already been handed the trophy that they had deservedly won.