ACC President Mohsin Naqvi will not visit Japan on Saturday for the India versus Pakistan gold medal match. Naqvi said, "Commitments will keep me away from Nagoya, but I will be looking forward to some thrilling action." Indian teams previously refused to accept trophies from him during recent cricket tournaments.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi will not visit Japan on Saturday for the gold medal match between India and Pakistan in Nisshin.
An ACC statement read: "ACC President Mr Mohsin Naqvi will miss Finals Day at Aichi-Nagoya 2026. But he sends his very best wishes to all four teams ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal matches."
"Wishing all participants the very best ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal matches at the Asian Games 2026. Commitments will keep me away from Nagoya, but I will be looking forward to some thrilling action," Naqvi said.
Sri Lanka will play Bangladesh in the Bronze medal match.
In recent ACC tournaments, Indian teams have refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi after winning the final. The Women's Asia Cup concluded in September, which was the latest incident where the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team did not participate in the presentation.
India head coach Amol Muzumdar said the team stood by the BCCI's decision not to accept the trophy from Naqvi and considered the tournament over after being crowned champions.
"That stand has been taken by BCCI and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions. That's good enough. It was on the big board that India champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us. We are happy that we have turned out to be champions. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games," Muzumdar said at the post-match press conference.
A source at the time had told The Indian Express that the BCCI had informed ACC officials that if Naqvi attended the presentation and India won the final, the team would not accept the trophy from him.
Before that, in September 2025, the Indian men's team too refused to receive the trophy at the same venue after beating arch-rival Pakistan, from Naqvi, leading to a presentation ceremony that stretched for more than an hour after the match had ended.
Naqvi is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and relations between PCB and The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) boards have further strained since the Pahlagam attacks.