India’s women’s cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup final on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, then declined to receive the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the president of the Asian Cricket Council and Pakistan’s interior minister.
The result gave India a continental title for an eighth time in 10 editions of the biennial tournament. Yet the closing ceremony became the defining image of the evening, as India’s players remained away from the stage after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had told Asian Cricket Council (ACC) officials in advance that the team would refuse the trophy if India won and Naqvi was the presenting official.
The formal presentation began at 10:40pm (18:40 GMT), more than 45 minutes after the match had ended close to 9:50pm (17:50 GMT). India’s players stood in a circle outside their dressing room before the ceremony and were not seen near the stage when it began.
The team was not called forward for its medals or the trophy during the official ceremony. No individual prizes were presented either, including the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament awards.
Instead, during the delay, India held its own medal presentation. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia gave the best fielder medal to Nandani Sharma.
Naqvi presented the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu. Sri Lanka’s players and the match officials received medals before the ceremony ended abruptly. An official then took the trophy away from the presentation area, and the broadcast ended without showing India receiving winners’ medals or the Asia Cup trophy.
The BCCI Chairman Devajit Saikia said India’s position rested on Naqvi’s role in Pakistan’s political leadership. “We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan”
India head coach Amol Muzumdar said the BCCI had made the decision and that the players supported it. “We are the champions. That's good enough”
The episode repeated the outcome of the men’s Asia Cup final in Dubai in September, when India beat Pakistan and also declined to take the trophy from Naqvi. That presentation was delayed by more than an hour and was cut short shortly before the trophy was due to be handed over.
The women’s team had already avoided handshakes with Pakistan during their match earlier in the tournament. Sunday’s events made this the second time in less than a year that an Indian team had refused an Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi at the Dubai venue.
The ACC and international cricket authorities have not said whether they will address the repeated refusals. The brief does not establish what discussions took place during the delay, or whether the incident will affect future Asia Cup arrangements or the ACC’s governance.
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