Asia Cup trophy saga shows how far India will go to politicise cricket

India’s actions during the Asia Cup reveal how cricket is being used as a tool for political messaging

KARACHI:

“We should never play against Pakistan. The BCCI is anti-national and worships money. They don’t care about the country — only about profit.”

Before the Asia Cup began, such statements were widespread. Former Indian cricketers and politicians were loudly demanding that India should not play against Pakistan, and the general public seemed to agree. However, unlike in the past, this time the Indian government ignored all criticism and announced that there was no restriction on playing Pakistan in multi-nation events. The Board (BCCI) confirmed the same.

Many believed this sudden change of stance was because of the $170 million media rights deal between the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and an Indian broadcaster for 2024–2031. But that explanation didn’t quite fit — BCCI’s share from this deal isn’t that big.

During the 2023–24 financial year alone, the BCCI earned 9,741.7 crore rupees, and from the IPL alone, it made 5,761 crore rupees. With such vast revenues, the Asia Cup income is like a handful of peanuts for them. So why, then, was India so eager to play against Pakistan despite strong opposition at home?

Now, everyone knows the answer. After their military defeat, the morale of the Indian public was very low. Since cricket is almost a religion in India, the sport was used to divert public attention from the humiliation of war. They also knew that the current Pakistani cricket team wasn’t particularly strong and could be beaten easily. So India tried to use this situation to fuel its war-time nationalism.

Refusing to shake hands, and the incident of not receiving the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, were all part of this same political narrative.

According to neutral sources, the ACC had contacted the Indian board twice before the final, confirming that ACC President Mohsin Naqvi (the PCB Chairman) would present the trophy to the winning team, and asked if India had any objection. They said nothing.

Even a day before the final, the ACC President released a statement clearly mentioning that he would attend the final and hand over the trophy to the winning captain. Still, BCCI raised no objection.

But as the match reached its closing stages, India suddenly sent word that their players would not accept any award from Mohsin Naqvi. Naqvi stood firm, and as a result, the trophy has still not been handed over to India.

Now perhaps they can make a Bollywood movie starring Akshay Kumar or Sunny Deol, where they heroically retrieve the trophy — because in reality, that doesn’t seem likely.

When you analyze the events, it becomes clear that this was all a planned attempt by the Indian government and BCCI to humiliate Pakistan. If India had informed Mohsin Naqvi earlier, he could have arranged an alternative. But India wanted to make a statement: “Look, we refused to take the trophy from a Pakistani official.”

They didn’t realize that Mohsin Naqvi is not like Sumair Syed, who was ignored during the Champions Trophy presentation and said nothing. Naqvi has stood his ground — if India wants the trophy, their captain will have to come to ACC headquarters in Dubai to collect it.

India has gone quiet publicly, but no doubt is plotting behind the scenes.

There are lessons for Pakistan in all this. The ACC presidency might belong to Pakistan, but how many Pakistanis actually hold positions there? One key Indian official has been leaking every detail to BCCI and Jay Shah. Even internal emails have ended up being reported in Indian state media.

At the very least, while Mohsin Naqvi remains President, the ACC should have Pakistani officials in key roles to prevent Indian sympathizers from undermining decisions. And we must understand that Salman Naseer is not the solution to every problem. He’s been made the head of the PSL, yet he’s involved in everything except the league itself. The ACC needs a capable official who truly understands such situations.

India’s next move will likely be to bring a no-confidence motion against Mohsin Naqvi in the ACC to remove him from his post. The PCB must start lobbying right now to defeat this plot.

Indian board secretary Sarkar Saikia has been giving interviews to foreign media, claiming that “Pakistan took away our trophy.” Has anyone from the PCB, besides Mohsin Naqvi, come forward to clarify?

Many former Indian cricketers are openly criticizing Pakistan, but how many of our former players have defended us? At least those who are on the PCB payroll should be made to issue statements. Others might stay quiet for fear of losing commentary or media opportunities in India.

The ICC is practically ruled by India. The BCCI has already announced that it will raise this trophy issue at the November ICC meeting, so another conspiracy may be coming. The PCB must prepare countermeasures now.

Given the current environment of hatred, if one or two more India–Pakistan matches had taken place, players might have literally come to blows on the field.

India has poisoned its players’ minds so much that they won’t even shake hands with Pakistanis. Cricket diplomacy is now a thing of the past — matches between the two countries only intensify hostility.

The Indian government deliberately did this, using its players as fuel to fan the flames of hatred.

The BCCI wants to isolate Pakistan in world cricket — we must not allow that to happen.

We must also deal wisely with the NOC (No Objection Certificate) issue. India already controls most of the world’s cricket leagues, and Pakistani players get very few chances abroad. Now that the Big Bash League (BBL) has invited our players, we should let them go.

If we start annoying even our friendly boards, they’ll stop inviting our players to their tournaments — and then, in return, who will send players to the PSL?

Mohsin Naqvi is a thorn in India’s side, and they will keep trying to remove him.

The PCB’s biggest income source is its ICC revenue share, and India will likely try to reduce that. Pakistan must start preparing for that scenario now.

The PSL is our second major source of income — we should strengthen it.

And finally, we need to improve our cricket itself. If we hadn’t lost three matches in the Asia Cup, we’d be in a stronger position today. We must build a powerful team so that next time, we can defeat India on the field just like we should off it. Then they won’t have trophy controversies to hide behind.

Let’s hope the PCB takes these lessons seriously.