Sunday's Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan won't just be about the cricket; the real tension might be waiting at the trophy presentation. Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the PCB and a powerful minister in Pakistan, is also the Chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
But this puts the Indian contingent in a bit of a pickle. The Indian team has a firm 'No Handshake' policy with Pakistan, and the BCCI is highly unlikely to let its players greet a PCB chief whose public comments in the past, and even at present, have been openly anti-India. Adding fuel to the fire, it was reportedly Naqvi who pushed the PCB's complaint against the match referee Andy Pycroft over the no handshake incident in the first game between the two rivals on September 14. This complaint was later rejected by the ICC.
The big question now is, if India wins against Pakistan on Sunday, will India's winning squad snub the ACC chief on the podium? The BCCI hasn't publicly stated its plan yet, but a very awkward, politically charged climax to the Asia Cup final seems inevitable.
Not only that, but it was Mohsin Naqvi who wanted India skipper Suryakumar Yadav to be banned from the final. PCB had Level 4 charges against him for dedicating his team's September 14 victory to his country's Armed Forces and for also showing solidarity with the families of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
"As of now, information is that he would come this evening and obviously, as ACC chairman, he will be giving away the winner's trophy. Let's see what the BCCI decides," a tournament insider told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Naqvi has twice posted a cryptic video message on 'X' in the past few days -- a Cristiano Ronaldo goal celebration depicting a plane crash.
It's the same gesture that controversial pacer Haris Rauf made repeatedly in the September 21 game against India, leading to a fine for him.
With PTI Inputs
