It was deja vu in Dubai on Sunday evening after the Indian women’s cricket team won the Asia Cup, beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs. Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi was kept waiting on the presentation podium as the Indian players refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from him. Naqvi presented the runners-up cheque to the Sri Lankan team before leaving the venue.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that ACC officials had been informed before the final that, should India win, the players would not accept the trophy from Naqvi, who is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and serves in the Pakistan cabinet. BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla later revealed Naqvi’s reaction to the Indian board’s stance.
Speaking to reporters after arriving at the Indira Gandhi International Airport with the team, Shukla said Naqvi did not object and instead presented the trophy to “whoever he had to” before leaving.
“We discussed the matter among ourselves and decided that we would not accept it (trophy) from him. It was our collective decision. He (Naqvi) also did not raise any objection to it,” Shukla said. “We informed our team accordingly, and he presented it to whoever he had to and then left.”
Earlier, Saikia had explained that the women’s team’s decision was intended to show solidarity with the men’s team’s stance during the 2025 Asia Cup, when the Suryakumar Yadav-led side refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025.
Images had earlier emerged of Saikia talking to Naqvi during the Asia Cup final, but Shukla said it was merely a “routine interaction.”
“What Saikia ji said is absolutely correct. When you are at a match, everyone is present there and interacts in a professional capacity. Therefore, I do not think there should be so much criticism over that,” he said.
Shukla also congratulated the team on its Asia Cup triumph and expressed confidence in the side doing well at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.
“We became Asia Cup champions. Our women have once again made us proud and we will continue to win in the future.
“The team is now heading to Japan and we are fully confident that we will secure a victory there as well,” he said.
