Will Mohsin Naqvi attend India vs Pakistan 2026 Asian Games final?

Dubai: Mohsin Naqvi will not attend the India-Pakistan men’s cricket final at the 2026 Asian Games, despite his position as president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

The ACC confirmed on Friday that Naqvi will miss Finals Day in Nagoya because of “prior commitments”. He also sent his best wishes to the four teams competing in the gold and bronze medal matches.

Naqvi’s presence might have been expected given his role as ACC president and his position as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which oversees Pakistan cricket.

The Men in Green secured their place with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in a rain-reduced semifinal. India reached the final after a 124-run victory over Sri Lanka. Both teams only played one game before the final as their respective quarterfinal games were washed out due to wet outfield.

The final will be the first meeting between India and Pakistan in the men’s Asian Games cricket competition. The Men in Blue are defending the gold medal they won at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, while Pakistan are chasing their first men’s cricket gold at the event.

As Naqvi is set to miss the Gold Medal game, his current term as ACC president is scheduled to end on April 2, 2027. The ACC presidency is rotated among its Full Members, with the position normally held for two years.

Bari is an experienced sportswriter at Gulf News and has been a sports fanatic all his life. He has years of experience covering Golf, Basketball and American Football. He watches all the sports with the hope of learning something from each of them. With an MBA background and expertise in content management, he aims to deliver every news to the audience that helps create interest in the sport for the reader as well. His passion and enthusiasm for the world of sports is what drew him to the journalistic journey.