IBNS-CMEDIA: The Asia Cup final once again witnessed controversy as the victorious Indian women’s cricket team refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister.
India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final but did not receive the winning trophy from Naqvi.
Naqvi was among the top ACC officials present at the venue, alongside BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and secretary Devajit Saikia, as India clinched the title.
During the official presentation ceremony, Naqvi was seen presenting the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
The ceremony then concluded with Athapaththu speaking to presenter and former Sri Lanka cricketer Farvez Maharoof. Naqvi subsequently left the ground with other ACC officials, while the Indian team did not receive the trophy or medals.
Saikia said India had been opposed to receiving the trophy from Naqvi and that the BCCI had proposed two alternatives to avoid a standoff.
Under the first proposal, the trophy would have been handed to the Indian team by ACC deputy chairman Khalid Al Zarooni. The second proposal was for a representative of the winning team’s cricket board to present the trophy to the players.
However, Naqvi rejected both proposals.
“The Indian team was always against accepting the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi but he was still offered a couple of options. The BCCI offered Naqvi that the Asia Cup trophy be handed over to the Indian team by ACC deputy chair Khalid Al Zarooni, which of course, he turned down,” Saikia told India Today.
“As per the recent norm, the representative from the Board which wins the tournament may be allowed to hand over the trophy. However, Naqvi remained adamant and the Indian team too refused to budge and refused to accept the trophy,” Saikia said.
During the post-match press conference, India women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar, as quoted by India Today, said the team stood by the decision taken by the BCCI.
“That stand has been taken by BCCI and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions. That’s good enough,” Muzumdar said.
He added that the Indian team would now turn its attention to the Asian Games.
The incident also brought back memories of the 2026 men’s Asia Cup final, when the Indian team was reportedly forced to wait for nearly an hour before the presentation ceremony began.
According to reports, India had requested that an Emirates Cricket Board official present the trophy instead of Naqvi, citing deteriorating relations between the two neighbours following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Naqvi reportedly rejected the request and maintained that the Indian team would receive the trophy from him.
During the unusual presentation ceremony, an ACC official was seen removing the trophy from the stage while the Indian team waited to take part in the presentation.
