India women skip Asia Cup presentation after 72-run win in Dubai

India won the Women's Asia Cup by 72 runs at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday night and then stayed off the presentation stage. Harmanpreet Kaur's team had put up 183 for 5. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 111. The crowd was 16,339. The cup stayed with Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi.

Naqvi is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan's interior minister. The Board of Control for Cricket in India had already told ACC officials that if India won and Naqvi presented the trophy, the team would not collect it. Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed the order after the match. That stand has been taken by the BCCI and we stand by it, he said. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions.

The presentation began about 50 minutes after the last wicket. Naqvi handed the runners-up cheque to Chamari Athapaththu. Presenter Simon Doull then told the ground that India would not collect their awards. The ceremony ended. Videos from the ground showed Indian players and staff in a circle outside the dressing room while the stage waited.

The scoreboard first

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put on 129 for the first wicket. That stand set the innings. India closed at 183 for 5. Sri Lanka never recovered a chase of that size and were all out for 111. It was India's eighth Women's Asia Cup title, a record.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent congratulations. The team pointed ahead to the Asian Games. Muzumdar said the result on the big board was enough. India champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us.

Why the cup was left on the table

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later described the refusal as solidarity with the men's side. India's men beat Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup final at the same ground and would not take the trophy from Naqvi. That cup was taken back to the ACC office in Dubai. Saikia said it is still there.

He tied the women's decision to the period after the April 2025 attack in Pahalgam. Citizens put pressure on the board to cut cricket contact with Pakistan, he said. The government's policy is that India must play every country in multinational events. That does not mean we will follow every condition laid out for us, Saikia told IANS. 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 BCCI offered an alternative. Saikia said the board asked that ACC deputy chair Khalid Al Zarooni hand over the cup. Naqvi refused. Neither side moved. The presentation that was delayed until 10:40 pm local time never included the winners.

Naqvi had been seated with dignitaries that included BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and Saikia. The Indian officials were in the ground. The players were not on the podium.

What this leaves

The ACC now has a second consecutive Asia Cup final in Dubai without a completed winners' presentation. The men's trophy from 2025 has not been physically received by India. The women's trophy from 2026 has not either.

That is a sporting fact and a diplomatic one. India will keep playing Pakistan in events that the government classifies as multinational. It will not accept silverware from the man who chairs both the ACC and the PCB while also sitting in Pakistan's cabinet. The distinction is now written into two dressing-room briefings, a year apart, at the same stadium.

Sri Lanka took the runners-up cheque. India took the title on the scoreboard. The metal cup did not change hands. The next time these sides meet under an ACC banner, the same question will sit on the presentation sheet before a ball is bowled: who is allowed to hand India a trophy, and who is not.