ISLAMABAD: India refused to accept the Women’s Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi after defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final in Dubai on Sunday, repeating last year’s controversial trophy snub.
Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, was present for the presentation ceremony as the ACC chief. Sri Lanka’s players also attended and received their runners-up awards, but no Indian player or representative came forward to receive the winners’ trophy.
The presentation was delayed by around 40 minutes before the ceremony began. The broadcast ended after Sri Lanka’s presentation, without showing India receiving their winners’ medals or the Asia Cup trophy.
India had earlier produced a dominant performance to win their eighth Women’s Asia Cup title. They posted 183 for five, with Shafali Verma scoring 68 off 39 balls and Smriti Mandhana making 59 off 39. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 111, with Sree Charani taking four wickets and Deepti Sharma claiming three.
The trophy snub immediately revived memories of last year’s men’s Asia Cup final, when India also declined to receive the trophy from Naqvi after defeating Pakistan in Dubai.
That incident came against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Pakistan and India following the May 2025 military conflict. The political tensions spilled into the Asia Cup, with India also declining handshakes with Pakistan players during their meetings in the tournament.
India’s cricket board later said the team had decided not to accept the trophy from Naqvi because of his position as a senior Pakistani political figure.
Naqvi subsequently said India were welcome to come to the ACC office in Dubai and collect the trophy from him, maintaining that he had been ready to hand it over as ACC president.
The latest incident has once again raised questions over the mixing of political tensions with sporting ceremonies.
Indian sports journalist Rahul Rawat reported on X that the Indian women’s team had refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, while Pakistani journalist Anas Mallick criticized the decision as a continuation of India “dragging politics into sports.”
Pakistani journalist Sohail Imran also said the episode had again raised questions over sportsmanship, while noting that the Women’s Asia Cup closing ceremony was delayed.
The latest controversy comes just ahead of the men’s Asia Cup final, where Pakistan and India are set to meet in Dubai in the first-ever title clash between the arch-rivals in the tournament’s history.