ACC confirms Mohsin Naqvi will miss Asian Games finals day as India and Pakistan ready for gold-medal showdown in Nagoya
Mohsin Naqvi will not be in Nagoya when cricket's fiercest rivalry plays out for Asian Games gold. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president will skip Finals Day at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the governing body confirmed on Friday, ahead of the men's gold-medal match between India and Pakistan scheduled for Saturday.
"ACC president Mr Mohsin Naqvi will miss Finals Day at Aichi-Nagoya 2026," the ACC said in a statement on Friday. "But he sends his very best wishes to all four teams ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal matches."
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are slated to meet in the bronze-medal play-off before the big finale, completing a four-team line-up that will contest the medals on the closing day of the cricket programme.
Naqvi, who cited prior commitments, said he would follow the action from afar. "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," he was quoted as saying in an ACC post.
The Dubai shadow over Nagoya
Naqvi's absence closes out one of the tournament's most-watched subplots. The ACC president was at the centre of a trophy-presentation controversy after India's Asia Cup triumph in 2025, when the Indian team refused to accept the trophy from him in Dubai — a standoff that has lingered ever since.
The question of whether history could repeat itself in Japan had shadowed the Asian Games from the outset. When India's women's team were preparing for an Asian Games semifinal against Bangladesh, reporting on September 20 said officials and sources believed Japan would not allow a repeat of the Dubai fiasco, and that the Pakistan Cricket Board had described Naqvi's visit to Japan as doubtful.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had also broken its silence on the matter in late September. In comments reported on September 28, the board expressed confidence that the dispute over the trophies India refused to take from Naqvi would be resolved, declaring: "Both trophies will come."
Focus shifts to the medal matches
With Naqvi now formally staying away, attention turns fully to the field of play. India and Pakistan will renew their rivalry with gold on the line on Saturday, while Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will battle for bronze earlier on Finals Day.
For Naqvi, there will be no handshakes, presentations or podiums in Nagoya — only, as he put it, looking "forward to some thrilling action" from a distance. Further details are expected to follow.