BCCI gets SL, Afghan support on Asia Cup trophy fiasco but Naqvi refuses to budge
New Delhi (PTI): The deadlock over the Asia Cup trophy, which is yet to reach champions India, continues to be unresolved as the Asian Cricket Council's Pakistani head Mohsin Naqvi has refused to part with it despite a fresh missive from the BCCI, backed by boards of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
A top ACC source told PTI that Naqvi has insisted that a BCCI representative collect the trophy from him at the body's headquarters in Dubai but the Indian board has rejected that stance. The BCCI has reiterated that it will raise this matter in an ICC meeting next month.
"The BCCI secretary (Devajit Saikia), BCCI's ACC representative Rajeev Shukla and representatives of other member boards including Sri Lanka Cricket and Afghanistan had written to the ACC president last week over handing the trophy to India," the ACC source said.
"But his response was that someone from BCCI should come to Dubai and take the trophy from him. So, that matter has still not moved. BCCI has made its stance clear that it won't be receiving the trophy from him. So, the matter will most likely be decided in the ICC meeting," he added.
The ICC is headed by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
The trophy has been at the ACC headquarters after the Indian team refused to accept it from Naqvi at the presentation ceremony, prompting him to walk away with it in an unprecedented turn of events on September 28.
Naqvi is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and his country's interior minister with a will-documented anti-India stance.
The Indians had refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during the entire Asia Cup as a mark of respect for the victims of Pahalgam terror attack.
On his social media account, which is withheld in India, he posted videos and memes mocking India's military action after the Pahalgam attack, throughout the Asia Cup.
The two teams played each other on every Sunday of the three-week tournament.
After the presentation fiasco, the two countries clashed at an ACC meeting as well where BCCI officials chided Naqvi for not handing over the trophy.
Sources have said that Naqvi, before leaving for Pakistan, instructed the ACC staff to not hand over or move the trophy without his instructions.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
