Photo via Hindustan Times

BCCI explains why India women’s team declined Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi: ‘Solidarity’ with men’s team stance

Following an emphatic 72-run triumph over Sri Lanka in Dubai, the Indian women's cricket team claimed their eighth Women's Asia Cup championship under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur. However, post-match celebrations experienced a near sixty-minute hold-up when the squad declined to receive their championship hardware from Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi, who simultaneously serves as Pakistan's interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman.

While Naqvi handed the finalists' check to Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu before promptly departing the ground, Indian players arranged a separate sideline medal ceremony attended by Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla, with the trophy left behind at the arena.

Saikia made it clear that the squad's actions were taken in unity with the Indian men's team, who had adopted an identical posture under Yadav during their own Asia Cup victory at the same ground the prior September. That precedent stemmed from heightened geopolitical hostilities following the April 2025 terror incident in Pahalgam, which prompted national pushback against bilateral sporting ties even as state guidelines permit participation in multi-nation events.