India may have won their ninth Asia Cup title in style, but the real drama could still unfold at the post-match presentation. With Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi, the ACC chairman, slated to hand over the trophy, will the Indian camp and specifically the captain Suryakumar Yadav go ahead and share the presentation dais with Naqvi?
A likely scenario could be that India may decide to send one of their assistant coaches – Morne Morkel or Ryan ten Doeschate – to accept the silverware on behalf of the team, before handing it to captain Suryakumar Yadav for the customary photographs. It’s a neat workaround that spares Indian players from sharing the dais with the PCB chief,who has been one of the prime instigators in worsening the off-field situation that had
made the headlines throughout the Asia Cup. Naqvi’s repeated jabs at India during this tournament had left BCCI officials simmering.
The background is messy. Naqvi has not only accused the ICC and match referee Andy Pycroft over the no Handshake saga after India’s group-stage win, but he also pushed for Level 4 charges against Yadav over his remarks supporting security forces. Add to that his cryptic Ronaldo-style ‘plane crash’ celebrations on social media – echoed on-field by Haris Rauf – and the tension is impossible to ignore.
For now, the trophy handover could become as closely scrutinised as the final itself. India have their title. But will they accept it, literally, from Mohsin Naqvi’s hands? That remains the million-dollar question.
