DUBAI: Although India won the Women’s Asia Cup cricket final, the team refused to take the trophy, and the decision became controversial.
Harmanpreet Kaur and her squad-who defeated Sri Lanka by a massive margin of 72 runs-did not accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, a Pakistani minister, a staunch anti-India figure, and the head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Similarly, after defeating Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup final held at the same venue last September, the Indian team led by Suryakumar Yadav did not accept the trophy from Naqvi, who was supposed to present it. Consequently, Naqvi returned with the 2025 Asia Cup trophy and, to this day, has not handed it over to the BCCI.
According to an Indian Express report, the BCCI informed Asian Cricket Council officials prior to yesterday’s final that they would not accept the trophy if it were to be presented by Naqvi. The trophy was not even brought to the podium. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had conveyed that the team was willing to accept the trophy if it were presented by ACC Deputy Chairman Khalid Al Zarooni, but Naqvi rejected this request. Consequently, India skipped the presentation ceremony despite their victory.
“We decided not to depart from the stance we had adopted a year and a half ago. The Men’s Asia Cup trophy has not yet come into our possession. We decided to make our position clear as a mark of respect for those who sacrificed their lives for our country,” Devajit Saikia said, as reported by the Hindustan Times. Saikia expressed hope that the BCCI would secure both trophies in the future.