The Indian women's cricket team declined to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the country's interior minister and chief of the cricket board.
On Sunday, the Indian women’s cricket team defied tradition by refusing to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi. This decision was reported by Cricinfo following India’s 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in Dubai, marking their eighth triumph in the women's Asia Cup. The ceremony was delayed for nearly 50 minutes, during which the Sri Lankan squad received their runners-up cheque from Naqvi before getting their medals from the Sri Lankan board’s interim chief Eran Wikramaratne.
Indian coach Amol Muzumdar explained at a press conference that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had made the decision not to accept the trophy from Naqvi, and that the squad stands by it. Muzumdar stated, ‘For us, this tournament is over, we are the champions…that’s good for us.’ He further added, ‘It was on the big board that India are the champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us. We’re happy that we’re the champions and we look forward to the Asian Games.’
Prior arrangements were made by the BCCI to inform the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian team would not accept the trophy from Naqvi, as reported by The Indian Express.
This incident bears similarity to a previous event in September 2025 when the Indian men’s team also refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi amid tensions between the two countries following the April 2025 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
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