India not to share dais with ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi if team wins Asia Cup: Report

In a major development, team India has decided not to share the dais with PCB and ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi if they go on to win the Asia Cup title on September 28.

As the President of ACC, Naqvi is expected to handover the trophy to the winning team. “…it is reliably learnt that if India make the tournament’s final on September 28, the players won’t be sharing the presentation dais with Naqvi, who is expected to hand over the winner’s trophy as ACC head," PTI reported.

Naqvi is also the Internal Affairs Minister of Pakistan.

Pakistan lodges formal complaint

The PCB has lodged a formal complaint against match referee Andy Pycroft for not upholding the spirit of the game. The official complaint was lodged with the ICC even though the world body is not conducting the tournament that falls under the purview of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

"The PCB has lodged a complaint with the ICC regarding violations by the Match Referee of the ICC Code of Conduct and the MCC Laws pertaining to the Spirit of Cricket. The PCB has demanded an immediate removal of the Match Referee from the Asia Cup," PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said on 'X'.

Pakistan had earlier taken up the issue with the ACC, labelling the Indian players' conduct as "unsporting".

"Team manager Naveed Cheema lodged a strong protest against Indian players' behaviour of not shaking hands. It was deemed as unsporting and against the sport of the game. As a protest we did not send our captain to the post match ceremony," read a PCB statement issued earlier.

While matters have escalated, it all began at the coin toss for the Group A contest when Suryakumar and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha did not engage in the customary handshake, drawing the attention of the cricket fraternity.

PCB has claimed that it was referee Pycroft who asked the captains to skip the pre-match handshake ritual. India skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha also refused to make eye contact.

India's 'No Handshake' policy could be repeated as both teams are likely to meet two more times in the remainder of the tournament.

Suryakumar had earlier justified the decision to not shake hands with the opposition, saying it was their way of showing solidarity with the families of the Pahalgam terrorist attack victims.

Twenty six Indian tourists were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists, prompting India to launch Operation Sindoor in retaliation.

The arch-rivals faced each other on a cricket ground for the first time since the terror attack in Kashmir and the retaliatory strikes by India on terror infrastructure across the border in May.