India women win eighth Asia Cup, refuse trophy from Naqvi

India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Women's T20 Asia Cup final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday and then declined to collect the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi. The presentation was delayed by almost an hour. Naqvi handed the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu and left. India held its own medal ceremony to the side, with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla present.

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put on 129 for the first wicket. India finished on 183 for 5. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 111. The official attendance was 16,339, most of them India supporters. Harmanpreet Kaur's team has now won the women's Asia Cup eight times, a record. Coach Amol Muzumdar told reporters the decision not to take the cup from Naqvi was the board's, and that the team stood by it. "For us, this tournament is over, we are the champions."

Saikia, speaking to PTI and IANS on Monday, called it a "conscious, institutional" decision communicated to the ACC in advance. "Given the circumstances and the sentiments prevailing in the country, the BCCI felt that it would not be appropriate for the team to receive the trophy in the proposed manner." He tied the stance to the April 2025 attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people and to the brief India-Pakistan military clash that followed. "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."

Naqvi is Pakistan's interior minister as well as PCB chairman and ACC president. India's men refused the Asia Cup trophy from him in Dubai in September 2025 after beating Pakistan in the final. That ceremony ran more than an hour late and was cut short before the cup could be handed over. Saikia said the women's side was expressing solidarity with that earlier stand. He also restated government policy: India will play every country in multinational tournaments, but that does not mean the board will accept every ceremonial condition attached to those events.

The distinction matters for the next 12 months. The ICC T20 World Cup is the next target Muzumdar and Saikia both named. Multinational events will keep putting Indian teams in the same buildings as Pakistani officials. The ACC, unlike the ICC, is chaired by a sitting Pakistani cabinet minister. As long as that is true, the BCCI's position is that the cup can sit on a table and the medals can be pinned by Indian officials. The result still counts. The photograph with Naqvi does not.

Sri Lanka's players completed a normal presentation. Athapaththu collected the cheque and did the broadcast interview. The feed then cut away from the outfield. Unlike last year's men's final, Naqvi did not take the trophy with him when he left. That small change at least leaves the metal in the stadium rather than in a dispute over who holds it overnight.

Indian women's cricket has been building toward a home World Cup cycle with more central contracts, more franchise money and fuller grounds. Sunday's batting was the on-field proof. Mandhana and Verma's 129 set a total Sri Lanka never looked like chasing. The political layer sat on top of that performance rather than instead of it. Saikia was careful to say the refusal was not aimed at the players, the tournament or the sport. It was aimed at the person scheduled to hand over the cup.

Whether that line holds at ICC events, where the presenter is not a Pakistani minister, is a separate question the board has not been asked yet. For the ACC event in Dubai it was settled before the toss. India won by 72 runs. The cup stayed off the podium. The record eighth title is in the book either way.