ACC President Mohsin Naqvi to Miss Asian Games 2026 Finals Day

Mohsin Naqvi, who serves as both the Asian Cricket Council President and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, will not be attending Finals Day at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. The Asian Cricket Council officially confirmed on Friday that Naqvi's prior commitments prevent him from traveling to the medal fixtures, which are set to take place at Korogi Park in Nisshin City.

The ACC released a statement acknowledging Naqvi's absence from the tournament's concluding day. As quoted by Cricbuzz, the council stated, "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." His dual responsibilities as PCB chairman and Pakistan's Interior Minister have created these scheduling conflicts.

This absence follows previous instances where Indian teams have declined to receive trophies from Naqvi. Notably, India's women's cricket team did not collect their trophy from him after winning the Women's T20 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in Dubai last month. Similarly, during the Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025, captain Suryakumar Yadav's team beat Pakistan three times, including the final on September 28, 2025, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium by 5 wickets, and also refused the trophy from Naqvi, declining handshakes.

The Asian Games 2026 schedule includes an India men's cricket team gold medal match against Pakistan on Saturday at Korogi Park in Nisshin City. Prior to this headline fixture, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were slated to contest the bronze medal game. The Olympic Council of Asia and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games Organising Committee retain the sole authority over medal presentation protocols and decisions regarding trophy acceptance.

What to watch: The medal presentation protocol at the Asian Games.

Editor's note: Comprehensive summary of the situation including relevant historical context provided in the source text.