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NEIGHBORS AT PLAY
The latest dispute centers on something that should have been a celebration: India’s victory in the Asia Cup held in Dubai.
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Staff Reporter - Fri, 24, Oct 2025
- 01:17 EDT
- 12
Stock image. / Pexels
Neighbors the United States and Canada, where cricket is beginning to stir again after some dormancy, might find a cautionary tale in another pair of neighbors—India and Pakistan—about how politics can drain the joy out of sport. The reminder couldn’t come at a more relevant moment, with cricket set to make its Olympic return in 2028 in Los Angeles, giving the game a long-awaited global stage.
The latest dispute centers on something that should have been a celebration: India’s victory in the Asia Cup held in Dubai last month after India beat traditional rival Pakistan in the final. The tournament ended not with cheers but with awkward silence. India’s players, upset with Pakistan Cricket Board chief and Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi—also Pakistan’s interior minister—refused to accept the trophy from him. Naqvi, angered by the protest, called off the presentation ceremony and had the trophy removed from the stadium before players could even pose for a photo.
Since then, India’s cricket board, the BCCI, has been waiting for the cup that never came home. Correspondence has flown back and forth, with Naqvi insisting that India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav travel to Dubai to collect it. The BCCI has refused, arguing that the trophy belongs to the team and not to a photo op or political gesture. Behind the scenes, there’s pressure building for the BCCI to push for Naqvi’s removal as ACC chairman, though for now the board says it will take the matter to the International Cricket Council in November.
The tension goes deeper than a missing trophy. It reflects how politics between India and Pakistan continues to spill over onto the cricket field—where handshakes are avoided and celebrations are laced with nationalist overtones. For the United States and Canada, where the sport is gaining fresh life through immigrant communities, youth academies, and new professional leagues, it’s a timely reminder: cricket can thrive only when competition stays on the pitch, not in the political arena.
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