India’s record eighth Women’s Asia Cup title triumph was followed by a familiar scene in Dubai as the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side did not accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Pakistan’s interior minister.
The presentation ceremony was delayed by nearly an hour after India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final on Sunday, September 13. Naqvi presented the runners-up cheque to Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu before leaving the venue. However, unlike last year’s men’s Asia Cup final, he did not take the trophy with him.
Instead, the Indian team conducted its medal presentation on the sidelines in the presence of BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla. The decision was seen as the women’s team showing solidarity with the stance taken by the Indian men’s team during last year’s Asia Cup.
BCCI secretary explains India’s decision
Saikia later explained that the decision was linked to the strained relations between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. He said that while the Indian government’s policy requires the team to participate in multinational tournaments involving every country, that does not mean India has to accept every condition.
“Our men’s team won the Asia Cup a year and a half ago. And our whole situation, since the April 2025 Pahalgam incident, changed after that. So, after that, there was pressure on us from our citizens that we shouldn’t keep any relations with our neighbouring country and not play cricket with them. But our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments,” Saikia was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
“But that doesn’t mean we will follow every condition laid out for us. Our military conflict is still ongoing. One of the main leaders who is working against the interests of our country; we can’t receive the trophy from him. The Women’s team has expressed solidarity with the decision taken by the men’s team last year.
“It doesn’t diminish the performances of our team. We have won all our matches in a one-sided manner. Women’s cricket has been growing so well in India and there’s no bigger evidence of that than this. Our whole planning is geared towards the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.”
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Saikia clarifies meeting with Mohsin Naqvi
Saikia also addressed the visuals of him and Shukla interacting with Naqvi in the Royal Box during the final. He clarified that the interaction was part of normal protocol and had nothing to do with India’s decision regarding the trophy.
“It’s not as if we wouldn’t meet anyone. I was sitting outside in the Royal Box from the toss until the end of the game. Everyone who came met me during the match; someone sat next to me, then Shukla came and sat with me. The person you mentioned also came and sat alongside Deputy Chairman Khalid (Khalid Al Zarooni) sahib,” Saikia said.
“That’s just a normal tradition — whenever anyone comes, we meet and talk with everyone. We tried to solve today’s situation, but our efforts were not successful. We don’t have any regrets. Our ultimate priority and ambition was not to focus on who would give the trophy. We wanted the Indian team to win and we’ve achieved that.”
Saikia also revealed that he presented the fielding medal after the match and said the conversation around it was focused on the upcoming Asian Games rather than the trophy controversy.
“I also got the chance to give the fielding medal that’s given out after every game. The conversation that was had around that was about the Asian Games, not about whether the trophy should be taken or not,” he concluded.
