Mohsin Naqvi in India during IPL final; ICC's scheduled meeting leads to sensational claims

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s possible presence in India has become the sharpest subplot around the ICC’s next round of meetings, with the global body’s Board meeting set to take place in Ahmedabad during the IPL 2026 final weekend.

The ICC’s chief executives’ committee meeting will be held virtually on May 21, while the in-person ICC Board meeting is scheduled for May 30 and 31 in Ahmedabad. The meetings were originally planned for Doha, Qatar, around March-April, but were later moved to India due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

The timing has made the situation even more sensitive. Ahmedabad is also set to host the IPL 2026 final, turning the city into the centre of the cricket world during the last weekend of May. A Geo Super (a Pakistan outlet) report claimed that Mohsin Naqvi has received an official invitation to attend the IPL final, though it also said this could not be independently confirmed. While no party in India has given any updates on the development, it is seen as a move by Pakistan to create a sensation.

That distinction is important because Naqvi’s possible India visit would not be a routine cricket-board movement. His position carries extra political weight. Apart from heading the PCB, he is also Pakistan’s federal interior minister and the president of the Asian Cricket Council.

The backdrop has already been tense. Naqvi was at the centre of the Asia Cup trophy controversy in Dubai, where India reportedly refused to collect the winner’s trophy from him after the final. The impasse ended with Naqvi leaving the stadium with the trophy and medals, and the silverware has since remained locked away in Dubai under his instructions.

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The BCCI later demanded the return of the trophy and raised the matter at the ICC level, deepening the administrative frost between the two boards. Naqvi’s later claim that the Pakistan Super League was on a path to surpass the IPL commercially added another layer to the already strained relationship.

For the ICC, the Ahmedabad meeting is expected to be part of its regular governance calendar. For India-Pakistan cricket, however, the focus has shifted to whether Naqvi will attend in person, skip the trip, or whether Pakistan will be represented differently.

The coming days could decide whether the ICC meeting remains a routine administrative gathering or becomes another flashpoint in the long-running India-Pakistan cricket standoff.

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