“I want what I want, I want it in my mind, why should there be any discord between me and the poor world.”
It sounds like something straight out of a Bollywood villain’s monologue, but over the past year it has become almost uncomfortably close to Mohsin Naqvi. The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman has turned into one of the most combustible figures in world cricket, especially when India wanders into the picture.
Naqvi rarely let the game breathe. From the Asia Cup chaos where India’s title celebrations somehow became about him to the latest government-backed decision skip the T20 World Cup clash with India, his tenure feels less like a cricket administration and more like a running political thriller. Naqvi was at war to keep India in their bad books for the cricketing world. (AP photo)
Press conferences, tweets and postponed ceremonies often carried more weight than what happened on the pitch.
Each episode, taken separately, can pass as a one-off reaction. Put together they read like a pattern.
The handshake turns into a protest. The presentation of the trophy becomes a milestone. The scheduling problem snowballs into a global tournament dilemma. The September 2025 handshake controversy opened the door. The final fall of the Asian Cup took it further. The threat of a boycott of the T20 World Cup has now thrown it off its hinges.
Further complicating matters is that Naqvi does not operate in just one world. When the same man signs internal security memos in the morning and cricket decisions in the evening, the lines are bound to blur. Naqvi is not only the PCB chairman but also Pakistan’s home minister, and this dual role has quietly become the subtext of almost every cricket stand-off Pakistan has entered into in recent times.
So what’s the ending here? Mostly flex. Mohsin Naqvi seems to want to keep turning up the volume, nudging the cricketing world into awkward conversations and making sure India stays squarely in the middle of the noise.
Back home, the reaction from former Pakistan cricketers was predictable. The choir fell in not because everyone was fully convinced of it, but because that’s how it usually goes. When the cue comes from above, joining is much easier than asking uncomfortable questions.
Administrators are supposed to put out fires, not add fuel. Instead, Naqvi seems to be enjoying the warmth, turning officials, the ICC and even routine cricketing moments into recurring political headlines, while the game itself remains waiting in the basement.
Is he trying to lead a new faction in international cricket? And if so, how does he expect to succeed? The truth is that no one can realistically challenge the current ICC order, which puts the BCCI at the top of the priority list, given how Indian cricket fills the global coffers.
Mohsin Naqvi’s Rage IND vs PAK: Timeline
15 September 2025 – Asia Cup handshake controversy
During the Asia Cup, Mohsin Naqvi protested against Indian players refusing a post-match handshake with Pakistan. India omitted the gesture in solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Naqvi claimed that match referee Andy Pycroft ordered the Pakistan captain not to shake hands at the toss. The PCB threatened to boycott their match against the UAE if Pycroft was not removed, but he ended up playing. Naqvi later criticized the mixing of politics and sports on social media.
28 September 2025 – Asian Cup Final
India beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final. The Indian players refused to collect the trophy from Naqvi due to his dual role as PCB chairman and Pakistani government official. Naqvi insisted on presenting the trophy alone, delaying the ceremony by more than an hour. No trophies or medals were awarded on the field.
End of September 2025 – the fight for the trophy
The BCCI refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi and prepared a formal complaint with the ICC. A senior BCCI official reportedly walked out of the ACC meeting in protest.
October 2025 – Public questions, no answers
Naqvi was publicly questioned on the Asia Cup controversy but offered no clarity or resolution.
December 21, 2025 – part of the U19 Asian Cup
Naqvi presented the Under-19 Asia Cup trophy after Pakistan defeated India in the final. He later accused the Indian under-19 players of provoking the Pakistani players and said that the PCB would inform the ICC.
January 3, 2026
The BCCI has ordered Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman following deteriorating relations between India and Bangladesh.
January 6, 2026
Bangladesh has ordered a halt to IPL broadcasts in the country. The BCB argued that if one player is a security concern in India, the security of the entire team is at risk.
January 12, 2026
The BCB has formally requested the ICC to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka and propose a hybrid model.
January 21, 2026
The ICC Council voted 14-2 against relocating the Bangladesh matches. Pakistan was the only committee that supported Bangladesh. Independent security assessments found no credible threat in India and Bangladesh were given 24 hours to confirm the trip.
January 22, 2026
After a meeting in Dhaka attended by players, BCB officials and Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh decided not to travel to India.
January 24, 2026
The ICC formally replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in Group C. Naqvi said Pakistan’s participation would depend on the government’s instructions, not the ICC’s.
January 26, 2026
Naqvi met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying all options remain open and a final decision will follow.
February 1, 2026
Naqvi met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. Pakistan was allowed to play in the T20 World Cup but was banned from facing India on 15 February despite being in the same group.
At this point, it is impossible to dismiss this pattern.
The ICC faces a dilemma, broadcasters face uncertainty and fans are left as collateral damage watching the sport they love.
Cricket has always survived politics, but rarely did it thrive when one administrator insisted on becoming his platform for venting his grudge.
Mohsin Naqvi may believe he is fighting a necessary battle, but history has a way of judging intentions by results, not slogans.
And as the old Bollywood line goes, the villain often believes he is the hero. The problem is that the script rarely ends up the way he expects.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
February 2, 2026
