Mohsin Naqvi rubbishes apology reports, says ready to give Asia Cup trophy

Mohsin Naqvi, the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Interior Minister of Pakistan, has denied apologising to the Indian cricket board.

“Let me make it absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong and I have never apologised to the BCCI nor will I ever do so,” he said.

Naqvi was responding to news reports in select media outlets which claimed that he had apologised to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he walked out of the presentation ceremony of the Asia Cup final in Dubai when Indian players refused to accept the trophy from him.

“As ACC President, I was ready to hand over the trophy that very day and I am still ready now. If they truly want it, they are welcome to come to the ACC office and collect it from me,” he said.

India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the Asia Cup final in Dubai last week, in a game that was overshadowed by the spillover of political tensions between governments of the two sides. The teams played each other three times in the tournament, and not once did their captains shake hands during the toss. The customary post-match handshakes between the players were also missing.

As the post-match presentation unfolded, it became clear that the Indian team would not accept the Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi.

Naqvi and other officials waited on the podium for a prolonged period, as the Indian team stood away. The Indian team reportedly indicated they were willing to accept the trophy from the Emirates Cricket Board's vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni, but this request was denied.

After a while, the trophy was removed from the presentation podium and taken off the field.

After individual awards were presented to players from both teams by other dignitaries, and with the champions' trophy still not presented, the ceremony host Simon Doull announced: "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."

Following the abrupt end, the Indian team celebrated their victory on the field without the physical trophy, with captain Suryakumar Yadav even mimicking a celebration with an imaginary trophy.Players later used social media to post photos with trophy emojis, underlining the missing cup.