Had a discussion with Naqvi, trying to bring Asia Cup trophy home at the earliest, says Saikia

New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that he held a cordial discussion with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on the sidelines of the ICC Board meeting held in Dubai on Friday, adding that there’s been willingness from both sides to break the stalemate over the Asia Cup trophy at the earliest.

The ongoing standoff over the Asia Cup 2025 trophy comes after India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, defeated Salman Agha’s Pakistan side by five wickets at the Dubai International Stadium to secure their ninth Asia Cup title.

But the post-match celebrations took an unbelievable turn when the Indian team opted not to accept the trophy or winner’s medals from Naqvi, the ACC Chairman who also serves as Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“Yesterday, there were two meetings of the ICC. One is the formal board meeting and the other is the informal board meeting. There were two meetings and in both the meetings, I and the chairperson of PCB, Mohsin Naqvi were present.”

“But as it (the Asia Cup trophy issue) was not on the agenda of the ICC's meeting, we made a request and the ICC facilitated a meeting between me and Naqvi on the sidelines of the board meeting.”

“We had a long meeting for about an hour and at the initiative of one of the very senior ICC board members, who’s a very senior person. So, they facilitated the conversation, and then the discussion between India and Pakistan happened yesterday at the ICC's meeting place.”

“Mohsin Naqvi and I had a cordial discussion and we are trying to solve this problem. He will also be giving us some options, and we will also be giving up some options so that the stalemate can be broken at the earliest possible time,” said Saikia to IANS on Saturday.

Before leaving for the ICC quarterly meeting in Dubai, Saikia had told IANS about raising the grievance around the delay in the Asia Cup trophy handover despite a letter being sent to the continental body. It remains to be seen if a solution to the trophy handover issue comes in the next few days.

There were certain reports suggesting that a committee might be constituted to resolve the Asia Cup trophy impasse. Saikia, however, dismissed the speculation, stating that no such committee had been formed.

“That is totally incorrect news which is going on in the media. There is no truth in that news material. This is speculated news from some corners; I have no idea of this. But it is also news to me because it had not happened in that manner in the ICC's meeting. I can assure you that,” he added.

--IANS

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