Mohsin Naqvi, President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), will not be traveling to Japan for the Asian Games. The confirmation arrives just ahead of the men’s gold-medal match between India and Pakistan at Aichi-Nagoya 2026, scheduled for this Saturday.
“ACC president Mr. Mohsin Naqvi will miss Finals Day at Aichi-Nagoya 2026,” the ACC announced in a statement on Friday. “But he sends his very best wishes to all four teams ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal matches.”
Before the grand finale, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are set to face off in the bronze-medal match.
“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,” Naqvi, who also serves as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), was quoted as saying in an ACC post.
As reported on September 19, organizers were keen to avoid a repeat of the recent Women’s Asian Cup controversy, where the Indian women’s team declined to accept the trophy from him. The decision of who presents the medals is made jointly by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC). Local organizers are highly unlikely to make a choice that would place the Indian camp in an awkward position.
Given the close diplomatic ties between India and Japan, Japanese authorities are not expected to allow any situation that might cause complications for the Indian team. Furthermore, celebrating the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, India and Japan played a bilateral cricket match on September 22. This was an unprecedented event in world cricket, pitting the world champions against Japan, an Associate nation ranked 41st.
