The deadlock over the Asia Cup trophy, which is yet to reach champions India, continues to be unresolved as the Asian Cricket Council’s Pakistani head Mohsin Naqvi has refused to part with it despite a fresh missive from the BCCI, backed by boards of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

A top ACC source told PTI that Naqvi has insisted that a BCCI representative collect the trophy from him at the body’s headquarters in Dubai but the Indian board has rejected that stance. The BCCI has reiterated that it will raise this matter in an ICC meeting next month.

“The BCCI secretary (Devajit Saikia), BCCI’s ACC representative Rajeev Shukla and representatives of other member boards including Sri Lanka Cricket and Afghanistan had written to the ACC president last week over handing the trophy to India,” the ACC source said.

Alleging that draws have been “neatly arranged” to ensure India-Pakistan clashes in ICC tournaments for “economic needs”, former England captain Michael Atherton has called for a complete halt to cricket between the two bitter rivals as sport has become a “proxy for broader tensions and propaganda”.

In a scathing column for  The Times, Atherton cited the recent “antics” at the Asia Cup where the Indian team refused to shake hands with Pakistani players and the Asian Cricket Council’s Pakistani head Mohsin Naqvi walked away with the winner’s trophy after the Indians refused to accept it from him.

“India and Pakistan have played each other in the group stage of every ICC event since 2013, which includes three 50-over World Cups, five T20 World Cups and three Champions Trophy,” Atherton said.

“That is regardless of whether the initial stage has been a single round robin – part of the motivation for which is the inevitability of an India versus Pakistan fixture – or multi-group, when the draws have been neatly arranged to ensure the fixture goes ahead,” he added.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav has announced that he will donate his entire match fee from the just-concluded Asia Cup to the country’s Armed Forces and the victims of Pahalgam terror attack..

India defeated bitter foes Pakistan by five wickets in the final to win the trophy on Sunday night in Dubai.

“I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts. Jai Hind,” the 35-year-old posted on ‘X’ after the high-voltage win.

India players are entitled to Rs four lakh per match in the T20 format, which means that Suryakumar would be donating a total of Rs 28 lakh for the seven games played in the continental event.

Suryakumar had taken the lead in snubbing Pakistan at every opportunity during the tournament.

He also paid tribute to the Pahalgam attack victims and the Indian armed forces after his team beat the arch foes in a group match on September 14. A furious Pakistan had accused him of making political statements and sought a ban on him in its complaint to the ICC.

The world body had then asked him to refrain from making any statement that might be construed political, besides imposing a 30 per cent fine on his match fee of that day.

The BCCI has challenged the fine on him after Suryakumar pleaded not guilty during the ICC hearing last week.