India women’s cricket team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from PCB and ACC head Mohsin Naqvi at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Women in Blue defeated Sri Lanka in the final to clinch the Continental Cup title for the eighth time, but the Harmanpreet Kaur-led squad didn’t attend the presentation ceremony as they declined the offer of receiving the silverware from Naqvi, who is also the Interior Minister of Pakistan. Suryakumar Yadav-led side had taken a similar stance after beating Pakistan in the summit clash last year.
Legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev was asked about the team’s refusal to accept the Women’s Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi. “Tell them to play golf,” he replied.
Rajeev Shukla, who is the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said that the team took a collective decision to say no to the handover of the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi following their success in the tournament.
India secured a 72-run win over Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Asia Cup. The players were present on the field and even spoke to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia before returning to the dressing room. Naqvi gave the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu before the conclusion of the ceremony. He left the venue with other officials of the Asian Cricket Council.
“We discussed the issue among ourselves and decided not to take the trophy from him. He didn’t object to our stance, and we informed the team. He gave it to whomever he wanted to and left. There was no angry reaction and exchange of words, and what (Devajit) Saikia ji said is right. When you are watching a match in the stadium, you meet people and also interact with them. It is a routine exercise, and there is no need to criticize anyone,” Shukla told reporters.
India head coach Amol Muzumdar revealed that it was BCCI’s call and they stood by it. “It was BCCI’s decision, and we stood by it. We are the champions at the end of the day. Trophy or no trophy doesn’t matter. We came here to win the tournament and successfully achieved our goal. We are now looking forward to the Asian Games 2026,” he said.
Devajit is confident of getting the men’s and women’s trophies in the near future but refused to give any timeline. India will now head to Japan to defend their gold medal.