The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side declined to accept the championship trophy from Naqvi.
Following their dominating 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in the Women's Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday (September 13), the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side declined to accept the championship trophy and tournament medals from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's Interior Minister and PCB chief.
This move mirrors the stance taken by the Indian men’s cricket team during the 2025 Men's Asia Cup, where they similarly refused to collect the trophy from Naqvi due to heightened geopolitical tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack and retaliatory Operation Sindoor.
With a record-extending eighth Women's Asia Cup title secured, the Women in Blue did not return to the field for the closing ceremony.
Addressing the media after the summit clash, Indian women’s head coach Amol Muzumdar stated that the squad fully supports the BCCI’s directive not to receive the silverware from Naqvi.
Muzumdar insisted that the tournament is “officially over” for them and they are now focusing on defending gold medal at the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
“That stand has been taken by the BCCI and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions, and that’s good enough. It was on the big board that India are the champions of Asia Cup 2026,” Muzumdar told reporters.
“This tournament is officially over for us. We are happy that we have turned out to be champions. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games.”
Muzumdar confirmed there is no update regarding when the team will officially receive the Women's Asia Cup trophy. “No news as yet, so I cannot answer that,” he said.
Muzumdar also addressed the recent controversy surrounding India-Pakistan cricket and whether trophy presentations could affect the spirit of sportsmanship.
“The stand has been taken by the BCCI and we are united and standing by it. Absolutely,” he said.
“For us, this tournament is officially over. The fact that we are champions, we are really glad and I am really proud of every single person in this unit, including the support staff and the players, needless to say.
“We are looking forward to the Asian Games now. This is officially over.”
Muzumdar dismissed concerns about India's middle order during the tournament, citing that the team had produced strong batting performances throughout the continental event.
“I think there is no such thing as a middle-order collapse. We have had some good scores, given the conditions here. I don’t think there was anything regarding the middle order. We don’t have any concerns regarding that,” he said.
“We have had some amazing opening partnerships. Shafali and Smriti have been batting really well. That’s the nature of the game, T20 cricket. You cannot have everyone shooting and scoring runs. There will be moments in a T20 match and we are well aware of that.”
Muzumdar highlighted India’s overall scoring record as evidence that the batting unit had risen to the occasion.
“The opening partnership has been really good and we finished off really well. We have got scores. We scored 198 in the first game and 160 and beyond in almost every game,” he said.