India Women declined to accept the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 trophy from Asian Cricket Council President and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi after defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Sunday’s final in Dubai, creating another presentation standoff less than a year after India’s men took the same position.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s team remained away from the official presentation as Naqvi took his place on the stage at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The ceremony eventually proceeded without the champions receiving their trophy or winners’ medals, despite India having just secured a record-extending eighth Women’s Asia Cup title.
BCCI had informed ACC of trophy position
The post-match ceremony was delayed after India completed its victory, with the team remaining in the dressing room while officials gathered for the presentation.
The BCCI’s position, however, had been communicated before the ceremony. According to a report by The Indian Express, the Indian board had informed ACC officials in advance that its women’s team would not receive the trophy from Naqvi if he attended the presentation.
🚨 Mohsin Naqvi stands firm while India refuse to accept the winners trophy from him. pic.twitter.com/a9bagfqxrC
— Ramzy 🇵🇰🇬🇧 (@Ramz_004) September 13, 2026
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia and Vice-President Rajeev Shukla were seen with the Indian players, while Saikia presented Nandani Sharma with the team’s fielding medal separately from the official ceremony.
Once the formal presentation began, match officials received their mementoes before Sri Lanka’s players collected their runners-up medals. Sri Lanka Captain Chamari Athapaththu received the runners-up cheque from Naqvi, after which the broadcast presentation concluded without India appearing on stage to collect the championship trophy.
Alternative arrangements had been proposed that would have allowed another official to present the trophy to India. Among the possibilities were ACC Deputy Chair Khalid Al Zarooni and senior BCCI officials, but no agreement was reached and the ceremony ended without the champions receiving the silverware.
Team India Refused to Take Trophy From The Asian Cricket Council Chairman Mohsin Naqvi 😳 pic.twitter.com/hfnCYbZwsn
— Malik Hassan. (@hazycraftss) September 13, 2026
Saikia explains BCCI position
Saikia linked the BCCI’s decision to the wider deterioration in India-Pakistan relations following the Pahalgam attack in April 2025 and the position subsequently adopted by India’s men’s team.
Saikia told IANS: “Since the April 2025 Pahalgam incident, there was pressure on us from our citizens that we shouldn’t keep any relations with our neighboring country and not play cricket with them. But our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments…”
Watch: On Indian women's cricket team did not accept the Women's Asia Cup trophy from ACC Chair Mohsin Naqvi, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia says, "Trophy is a controversial thing in the Asia Cup, Our men's team won the Asia Cup a year and a half ago. And our whole situation,… pic.twitter.com/2p5Q6bqS4L
— IANS (@ians_india) September 13, 2026
The BCCI Secretary also addressed the distinction between India participating against Pakistan in multinational competitions and accepting the trophy from Naqvi.
Saikia added: “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.”
Efforts were made at the venue to find a way through the presentation dispute, but the discussions did not produce a resolution before the ceremony concluded.
Saikia noted: “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.”
Muzumdar backs BCCI position
India Women’s Head Coach Amol Muzumdar, speaking at the post-match press conference, said: “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. It was on the big board that India champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us.”
India’s attention will now shift from its successful continental campaign to its next international assignment. Muzumdar, speaking at the post-match press conference, added: “We are happy that we have turned out to be champions. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games. The fact that we are champions, we are really glad and I am really proud of every single person in this unit. Including the support staff and the players, needless to say.”
Women’s final revives 2025 trophy dispute
The episode closely follows the controversy surrounding India’s men’s Asia Cup triumph at the same venue in September 2025.
As previously reported by cricexec, Suryakumar Yadav’s team defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final but declined to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi. India was prepared to receive the silverware from another official, but the post-match ceremony ended without the champions being presented with either the trophy or their winners’ medals.
India’s players subsequently celebrated on the podium without the silverware, mimicking the act of lifting an invisible trophy. The dispute continued beyond the tournament, with the trophy remaining at the ACC headquarters in Dubai as the BCCI sought its handover.
As reported previously by cricexec, Naqvi and Saikia later held discussions on the sidelines of an ICC Board meeting in Dubai in November 2025, opening direct talks aimed at resolving the dispute after weeks of disagreement. Despite that engagement, India had still not received the 2025 men’s Asia Cup trophy, leaving the original standoff unresolved as the same issue resurfaced at the Women’s Asia Cup.
India seal record eighth Women’s Asia Cup title
The presentation controversy followed a commanding performance from India in the final. After electing to bat, Kaur’s side reached 183 for five, driven by a 129-run opening partnership between Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma.
Verma struck 68 from 39 deliveries, while Mandhana made 59 from 39 as India established control of the contest. Sri Lanka was then dismissed for 111, with Sree Charani taking four wickets and Deepti Sharma claiming three.
Saikia said: “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 2028 ICC T20 World Cup. The happiest part of this tournament is how India has left everyone else behind and surged so far ahead.”
The 72-run victory extended India’s record to eight Women’s Asia Cup titles. But for the second successive Asia Cup involving an Indian champion in Dubai, the competition ended with India winning the title without receiving the trophy during the official presentation.
