Why did India not take the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi? Rajiv Shukla told BCCI's plan

Delhi: In the final of the Women's Asia Cup played in Dubai, India registered a spectacular victory by defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs and captured the trophy. But after winning the match, the Indian women's team flatly refused to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council President and Pakistan Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Now the statement of Rajeev Shukla, Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has come out on this entire matter.

Whose decision was it not to take the trophy?

Rajiv Shukla, who arrived with the team at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, made it clear while talking to journalists that not taking the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi was not the decision of any one person but a collective decision of the board.

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Rajiv Shukla said, “We discussed this issue among ourselves and decided that we will not accept the trophy from him (Mohsin Naqvi). This decision was taken by everyone together. The good thing is that Naqvi also did not express any objection or protest on this.”

He further said that the team was already informed about this decision. After this, Naqvi handed over the trophy to whoever he wanted and left from there.

BCCI's stance remains intact after Pahalgam attack

This stance of the Indian team is not new. Since the tragic terrorist attack in Pahalgam last year in which 26 innocent people lost their lives, the Indian Cricket Board has taken a tough stance. The Indian men's team had adopted a similar stance during the Men's Asia Cup held in 2025 and now the women's team has also kept the same tradition and the honor of the country paramount.

BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia had also already made it clear that in view of the current circumstances, the Asian Cricket Council had already been informed that the Indian team would not be a part of the presentation ceremony in the presence of Naqvi.

Questions raised on conversation with Naqvi

During the match, pictures of BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia's conversation with Mohsin Naqvi were revealed, on which some people raised questions on social media. On this Rajiv Shukla said that it was just a normal and professional conversation.

He said, “When you are in an international match, everyone is present there and it is natural to talk about work. Therefore, there should not be unnecessary criticism on this matter.”

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Confident of hoisting tricolor in Asian Games also

Rajiv Shukla congratulated the entire Indian women's cricket team on winning the Asia Cup. He said, “Our daughters have once again made the entire country proud. Now the team is leaving for the Asian Games to be held in Japan and we are confident that the Indian team will hoist the tricolor there too.”