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BCCI official reacts to call of not having more India-Pakistan games after Asia Cup fallout: 'Easy to talk but...'
Former England captain Michael Atherton recently advised the ICC to stop having more India versus Pakistan games looking at the current climate.
The Asia Cup 2025 drama has led to calls for reducing the number of matches between India and Pakistan in the future. However, a BCCI official brushed aside these suggestions, saying it is easier to have such conversations, but there are no simple calls, as many sponsors are involved, and the final decision can only be taken once the sponsors and broadcasters give their approval. The eight-team tournament was marked by intense drama between the two teams, culminating in Suryakumar Yadav's India refusing to accept the silverware from Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
India and Pakistan met on three occasions in the tournament, with India emerging victorious each time. This was the first time that the two teams played against one another in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. The group stage match on September 14 saw Suryakumar and his side refusing to shake hands with the rival camp.
The Super 4s game on September 21 then witnessed Pakistani players making provocative gestures as the bad blood clearly spilt over. Recently, former England captain Michael Atherton advised the ICC not to have more matches between the two teams, as the current climate is not good enough.
Also Read: ICC told to stop 'arranging tournament fixtures' between India-Pakistan after Asia Cup row
Reacting to this suggestion, a BCCI official told Dainik Jagran that it is easy to issue such advice, but there are no simple solutions to this problem.
"It's easy to talk about all this, but will sponsors and broadcasters agree to it? In today's situation, if any major team, not just India, withdraws from a tournament, it will be difficult to attract sponsors," said the official.
India still haven't received the trophy
With India refusing to accept the trophy from Naqvi, they are yet to receive the silverware. Naqvi is still adamant about handing over the title; hence, it's unclear when Suryakumar Yadav and his team will get to hold the title.
According to Jagran, the Asia Cup silverware is at the ACC headquarters in Dubai. Recently, Naqvi had posted on social media that if India want the trophy then their captain Suryakumar needs to come to Dubai and collect it from him.
A recently held ACC meeting saw tempers flare between Naqvi and the BCCI representatives - Rajeev Shukla and Ashish Shelar. However, Naqvi (Interior Minister of Pakistan) kept on deflecting and gave no clear answer on when he plans to hand over the trophy.
