Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has given a sly, one‑liner update on the still‑unresolved Asia Cup 2025 trophy saga.
Speaking to reporters in Karachi, Naqvi was asked a simple question: “Where is the Asia Cup trophy?”
Mohsin Naqvi simply stated: “Wherever it is, it’s safe.”
The quip was a pointed nod to the controversy that erupted after India won the Asia Cup 2025 but refused to receive the trophy from Naqvi during the official presentation. India’s decision to boycott the handover from the ACC chief turned what should have been a routine ceremony into a political statement, with the trophy never being lifted on stage.
Throughout that tournament, Indian players and officials were also accused of deliberately avoiding handshakes with Pakistan’s contingent, a pattern of behavior widely condemned across the cricketing world as unsporting and petty.
Critics argued that India had allowed political tensions to dictate on‑field protocol, blurring the line between diplomacy and sport.
Naqvi, however, has not backed off. Since the final, he has maintained a firm stance that he will personally present the Men’s Asia Cup trophy to the Indian team in a proper ceremony whenever they agree to accept it.
The same script was reportedly being prepared for the U19 Asia Cup, with suggestions that India’s junior side might follow a similar refusal if they won the tournament. That plan spectacularly backfired when Pakistan U19 demolished India in the final, taking the title themselves and removing any opportunity for a repeat protest.
The mystery around the actual location of the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 trophy only deepened earlier in December 2025, when Indian reporters visited the ACC headquarters inside the ICC offices in Dubai.
According to their report, the channel’s crew was initially denied entry and had to wait close to an hour before finally being allowed in. Once inside, they found an almost abandoned atmosphere: a deserted office floor, a conference room with empty chairs and scattered files, and no visible sign of senior officials.
One detail did stand out, a trophy labelled for the Asia Cup lying in a corner. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the 2018 Women’s Asia Cup trophy.
When the team made its way towards the office of ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, they found the door locked. Rumors suggest that the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 trophy is stored inside that very room, though the ACC has not officially confirmed it.