New Delhi, October 2 (Daily Kiran) : The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has confirmed that Mohsin Naqvi, its president and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), will not be present for the highly anticipated gold medal match between India and Pakistan at the 2026 Asian Games. His absence is due to previously scheduled commitments.
The final match is set to take place at the Korogi Sports Park in Nishin on Saturday, October 3. Naqvi extended his best wishes to the teams competing for medals. Earlier that day, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will face off in the bronze medal match.
In a statement shared on social media, the ACC noted, “Due to prior commitments, ACC President Mohsin Naqvi will not be able to attend the finals of the Asian Games 2026, but he wishes all four teams the best of luck ahead of the gold and bronze medal matches.”
Following their victories in the semifinals, India and Pakistan will clash for the gold medal. Pakistan secured a six-wicket win against Bangladesh in a rain-affected 13-over match, while India triumphed over Sri Lanka by 124 runs in the other semifinal.
Given the current diplomatic tensions between the two nations, the traditional post-match handshake between players is unlikely to occur. Relations have soured significantly since the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which escalated the situation to near-war levels. Since then, India has refrained from any form of interaction with Pakistani players or officials during global cricket events, regardless of the format or age group.
During India’s successful T20 Asia Cup campaign in 2025, the team, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav, defeated Pakistan three times, including in the final, but did not shake hands with the opposing players or accept the trophy from Naqvi. Similarly, the Indian women’s team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, also declined to participate in post-match formalities after winning the women’s T20 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka last month in Dubai, refusing to accept the trophy from Naqvi.
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