The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final ended with India lifting the trophy, but the presentation ceremony created a fresh controversy on Sunday (September 14). After defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team refused to take the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 trophy from ACC President Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister.
The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has now backed the India women’s national cricket team’s decision. The incident followed the same pattern as last year’s Men’s Asia Cup final, when Suryakumar Yadav and his team also refused to collect the trophy from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s Women's Asia Cup 2026 trophy stand sparks fresh India-Pakistan controversy
The controversy comes amid tense India-Pakistan relations after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025 and India’s Operation Sindoor. Although India and Pakistan continue to meet in multinational cricket tournaments, they refused to follow the traditional handshakes before and after the games.
Well, after beating Sri Lanka by 72 in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team refused to take the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, but they were ready to receive the silverware from ACC vice-president Khalid Al Zarooni instead.
However, the ACC president did not step aside, leading to around one hour's delay in the presentation ceremony. In the end, India did not receive the trophy from Naqvi, while Sri Lanka, the runners-up, were given their medals by the PCB chairman in Dubai. Amid this, Harmanpreet Kaur hails India Women after unbeaten Asia Cup triumph over Sri Lanka.
Devajit Saikia backs India's stand against Mohsin Naqvi
Defending the women’s team, Devajit Saikia said that India will continue playing Pakistan in major international tournaments because that is the policy, but that does not mean they have to accept every situation connected with Pakistan, especially after the Pahalgam attack in April 2025.
Saikia was quoted as saying by ANI, "Our men’s team won the Asia Cup a year and a half [a year] ago. And our whole situation since the Pahalgam incident in April 2025 changed after that. So, after that 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.”
"Naqvi is working against the interests of our country": Devajit Saikia on Mohsin Naqvi
The BCCI secretary has further explained, “But our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments. So, we are following that policy and abiding by that; the BCCI sends a squad to play every team. But that doesn’t mean we will play and follow every condition laid out for us. The country with which our relations were already bad and which has deteriorated considerably since April 2025—our operation is still ongoing.”
Saikia added, “One of their key leaders [Naqvi] is working against the interests of our country—we cannot receive the trophy from him. A year ago, we did not accept the trophy in the Men’s Asia Cup. Our women’s team has also taken a decision today to express solidarity with that decision and did not accept the trophy in a similar situation.”
Addressing the situation where the BCCI secretary was seen speaking with the PCB chairman during the final, Saikia said that meeting Mohsin Naqvi during the match was only a normal courtesy. He was sitting in the Royal Box, and when Naqvi came there with ACC vice-president Khalid Al Zarooni, they met and spoke like other people who visited the box.
He also said that there was no “regret” over the trophy issue. The main focus was for India to win the Women’s Asia Cup final, not on who would present the trophy, and they achieved their main goal.
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