All eyes were on the ICC Council meeting in Dubai on Friday, when Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia was expected to raise the issue of the Asia Cup trophy. However, the issue was not raised at the Chief Executive Committee (CEC) meeting earlier this week, nor at the Board of Directors meeting. It was not part of the official agenda and was never brought up for formal discussion in the last few days in Dubai.It is learned that informal discussions took place on the sidelines of the Council meeting where Saikia pointed out that India, the winner of the 2025 Asia Cup, is yet to receive the trophy. While Saikia represented the Indian Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi represented the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Naqvi’s presence at the meeting, but as reported by TimesofIndia.com earlier, the PCB chief arrived in Dubai just an hour before the official meeting of the Board was to begin. It is also understood that council members held lengthy informal discussions before the official meeting, but Naqvi missed it as he only left for Dubai on Friday morning. He was due to stay in Dubai overnight and there was a feeling in the room that the trophy impasse was about to end.“There were no heated arguments or anything else. The issue was raised during an informal discussion and both PCB and BCCI will work to resolve it at the earliest. Whether it needs ICC intervention – by setting up a committee or something – is not decided at this stage, but it went very well and cordially,” says an administrator who attended meetings in Dubai this week.“Yes, there were serious doubts whether Mr. Mohsin Naqvi would attend the board meeting, but once he did, routine was routine and the issue of the trophy was only discussed on the sidelines,” he added.TimesofIndia.com has reached out to BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia for comment and the story will be updated once he responds.
