Will Mohsin Naqvi attend India vs Sri Lanka Women's Asia Cup final? Explaining potential for another trophy controversy originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Some reports have suggested PCB chairman and ACC president Mohsin Naqvi could attend the Women's Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai as chief guest.
His presence could raise the prospect of another trophy controversy if India win, following the unresolved Men's Asia Cup trophy standoff in 2025.
India will face Sri Lanka women in the final at Dubai.
The Asia Cup trophy controversy that gripped cricket last year hasn't gone away, and it could potentially resurface, with Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman and Asian Cricket Council president, confirmed as the expected chief guest at the Women's Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai on September 13.
When India beat Pakistan in the Men's Asia Cup final on September 28, 2025, what should have been a celebration turned into one of the most unusual scenes in tournament cricket.
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The post-match presentation was delayed by over an hour while discussions took place around who would present the trophy. Ultimately, India's players chose not to accept the silverware from Naqvi.
The squad celebrated on the podium, Naqvi left the stadium with the trophy still in hand, and it hasn't been handed over to India since. It's reportedly still sitting at the ACC office in Dubai.
The tournament had been held in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, and Naqvi had also posted anti-India content on social media in his capacity as Pakistan's Interior Minister during the course of the event.
That combination of factors made the trophy moment explosive, and it was widely discussed for weeks after.
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As the ACC president, Naqvi holds the natural role of trophy presenter at continental cricket events. The Women's Asia Cup is an ACC-run tournament, which means his position gives him the right to hand over the silverware to the winning captain.
If India wins, the same question about whether to accept the trophy from him could land squarely in front of Harmanpreet Kaur's team.
The BCCI has not issued any statement about what India's women's side would do if the situation arose. That silence may be deliberate as there's little to gain from escalating the tension before the final has even been played.
India arrived at this tournament as favourites and have played like it. They've gone through the group stage without dropping a match and beat Bangladesh in the semi-finals to seal a berth in the summit clash.
The latest update from Indian journalists Rohit Juglan and Vaibhav Bhola suggests Naqvi will attend the final and also present the trophy to the winning team.
"Asian Cricket Council Chairman Mohsin Naqvi will give the Asia Cup trophy to winning team. This Is 100% Final," Bhola posted on X while Juglan corrected his earlier speculation, noting : "Mohsin Naqvi is coming."
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A year after the Men's Asia Cup trophy was left sitting in a Dubai office rather than with the team that won the tournament, the same circumstances are being allowed to recreate themselves.
That's a failure of administration, not just politics. The ACC has had twelve months to find a way to resolve a situation that embarrassed international cricket, and apparently nothing has been done.
Allowing the same person, in the same dual roles, to be placed in the same position at the same type of event, without any protocol in place to prevent a repeat controversy, is a choice. It's a choice that prioritises optics over resolution and leaves both the trophy and the problem still unaddressed.
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