The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final concluded on the same lines as the Men’s Asia Cup final last year. Following in the footsteps of Suryakumar Yadav’s team, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. refused to collect the trophy from the hands of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s Interior Minister. Only the runners-up medals were awarded in the trophy presentation ceremony to Sri Lanka as the controversy was repeated. Now, a Pakistan media report has highlighted Naqvi’s stance on the matter.
A report in Geo News has claimed that despite being informed of Team India’s stance even before the final began, Mohsin Naqvi remained firm in his decision to present the trophy himself.
This situation resulted in a delay of around 90 minutes to the post-match presentation ceremony. Eventually, the Indian team chose not to receive the trophy from the Pakistani politician, while Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu accepted the runners-up prize-money cheque as well as the medals.
“The trophy is available to the winning Indian team,” the report quoted an ACC source as saying. The report further added that even the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 trophy is available for collection. “Our position has not changed,” the source added.
After removing the trophy from the presentation ceremony last year, Naqvi held multiple rounds of discussions with the BCCI over the controversy. He reportedly also told the Indian board that the trophy could be collected from his office, provided a felicitation ceremony is held, where he would himself do the handover to the Indian team.
Later, it was also reported that Naqvi had softened his stance a little bit and had agreed to hand over the trophy if India captain Suryakumar himself paid him a visit to his office to collect the trophy. The BCCI, however, has continued to turn down these demands from Naqvi.
The report in the Pakistani media outlet has stated that Naqvi had not moved “an inch” from his previous position.
READ | Mohsin Naqvi Was Informed: Asia Cup Trophy Behind The Scenes Drama Revealed
Mohsin Naqvi came to present the trophy, India said “no thanks”… and he walked out looking for the nearest exit. pic.twitter.com/nCTqoY4bWK
— Hariom kamad (@HariomK61498) September 13, 2026
What BCCI Said On The Controversy
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia recalled the 2025 Men’s Asia Cup controversy, which saw the Indian team refuse to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, in solidarity with the Pahalgam terror attack. Saikia said that there was pressure from Indians to end relations with Pakistan, but contractual obligations force the team to play against them in multi-team tournaments.
He added that Harmanpreet Kaur and her team understand the depth of the matter and are ready to stand with the BCCI on its stance.
“Our men’s team won the Asia Cup a year and a half ago. And our whole situation, since the April 2025 Pahalgam incident, changed after that. So, after that, there was pressure on us from our citizens that we shouldn’t keep any relations with our neighbouring country and not play cricket with them. But our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments,” Saikia said after the Women’s Asia Cup final.
“But that doesn’t mean we will follow every condition laid out for us. 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 Women’s team has expressed solidarity with the decision taken by the men’s team last year. It doesn’t diminish the performances of our team. We have won all our matches in a one-sided manner.”
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