Why the Indian cricket team snubbed the Asia Cup trophy presentation after victory - Firstpost

On Sunday night (September 13), the Indian women’s cricket team crushed Sri Lanka by 72 runs to win the Asia Cup for a record eighth time. However, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian team had no trophy celebration, as the Women in Blue refused to accept the silverware from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi. The incident on Sunday in Dubai evoked memories of last year’s men’s Asia Cup final, which ended with the Pakistan official taking the trophy back to the ACC office in Dubai, where it still is. What exactly happened? Why did the Indian women’s team refuse the trophy from Naqvi? What’s the story behind the refusal? We explain it all. What happened after Women in Blue won the Asia Cup? On Sunday, the Indian women put up a dominant show, defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs to reclaim the crown from the 2024 champions. However, the presentation ceremony was delayed by nearly 50 minutes; the match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium ended close to 9:50 pm (17:50 GMT), but the ceremony did not begin until 10:40 pm (18:40 GMT). Once the presentation began, ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and PCB chairman, arrived along with other dignitaries. Match officials were presented with their medallions before the Sri Lankan players stepped up for their medals. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu received the runners-up award from Naqvi and then proceeded to speak about her team’s performance. 🚨 NO TROPHY FROM MOHSIN NAQVI! 🇮🇳 India Women chose not to collect the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi. Smriti Mandhana simply turned around and headed back to the dugout! 🔥 WELL DONE GIRLS! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/XwnW5eW8nW — The Khel India (@TheKhelIndia) September 14, 2026 However, the Indian side didn’t go up on stage at all, and the broadcast of the ceremony ended there. The incident evoked memories from last September when the men’s side also refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi. Following the incident, Suryakumar and his teammates responded by mimicking a trophy lift during their celebrations. The Indian skipper later said the decision not to accept the trophy from Naqvi had been taken by the players themselves. The Indian women's cricket team celebrate their victory in the finals of the Asia Cup. Image Courtesy: @BCCI/X Why did the Indian team refuse the trophy from Naqvi? After the Kaur-led team won the final against Sri Lanka, visuals shared on social media showed the Indian team and support staff standing in a circle outside their dressing room ahead of the ceremony. They were not seen near the stage once it got underway, and no explanation was provided for their absence. Later, the Indian cricket team’s head coach Amol Muzumdar addressed the controversy, stating it was a stance taken by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). “That stand has been taken by the BCCI, and we stand by it,” he said in his post-match press conference when asked why the Indian team did not appear for the presentation ceremony. “It was on the big board that India ‘Champions of Asia Cup 2026’. This tournament is officially over for us. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games,” he added. The Indian women's cricket team stood in a huddle near the dressing room after the match, refusing to take the trophy from ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi. Image Courtesy: X According to an Indian Express report, a source within the Indian side had informed the ACC that if Naqvi were to attend the presentation, India wouldn’t accept the trophy from him. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia further noted that the move by the women was a show of solidarity with the men’s side. He noted, “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. “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. The happiest part of this tournament is how India has left everyone else behind and surged so far ahead,” said Saikia. India and Pakistan ties have been on ice after the Pahalgam terror attack last April, in which 26 people died. India has blamed terrorism sponsored by Islamabad for the tragedy and even launched Operation Sindoor. Who is Mohsin Naqvi? At the heart of Sunday’s controversy is ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi and the position he holds in the Shehbaz Sharif Cabinet. The 47-year-old wields extraordinary power in Pakistan: he oversees Pakistan’s internal security while serving as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and president of the Asian Cricket Council. More recently, he has also served as Islamabad’s diplomatic envoy during the West Asia crisis, travelling to Iran back and forth to get Tehran and US to the negotiating table. Additionally, he was also in attendance when US President Donald Trump met Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir for a White House lunch in 2025. Munir has had a very different rise to the top. Born in Lahore, he pursued journalism at Ohio University in the United States. He began his career with an internship at CNN before founding the City Media Group in Pakistan. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi wields extraordinary power in Pakistan: he not only oversees Pakistan’s internal security but also serves as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and president of the Asian Cricket Council. File image/Reuters In 2023, he was appointed as caretaker chief minister of Punjab province and a year later, went on to become the interior minister despite not being a senator and never having contested elections. Naqvi later contested the 2024 Senate elections and won after receiving backing from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). What is very interesting to note is that Naqvi shares close ties with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Field Marshal Asim Munir. In an interview with Geo News, Zardari said that he called Naqvi his son. His power within the Pakistan establishment is well known. Pakistan’s controversial Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has described him as perhaps the government’s most powerful minister, remarking that “in many matters, he doesn’t even answer to the prime minister”. And in a 2024 interview, now-jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan referred to him as a “viceroy”. Khan then claimed “the ‘king’ is covertly handling the affairs, while [interior minister] Mohsin Naqvi is operating as a viceroy” and that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “commands no power”. With inputs from agencies