In the space of 12 months, both the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams have refused to collect their respective Asia Cup trophies from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Minister of Interior Affairs in the Pakistan government. In 2025, the Suryakumar Yadav -led men’s team declined to accept the silverware from Naqvi due to geopolitical tensions and his anti-India stance.
To date, India have not received the physical trophy, as Naqvi departed the presentation area with the silverware following the final in Dubai. The controversy reignited on Sunday after the women’s team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur , similarly refused to collect their awards from Naqvi after defeating Sri Lanka.
Saikia also revealed that the Indian women’s team was ready to receive the trophy from ACC Deputy Chairman Khalid Al Zarooni. A report in the Indian Express has claimed that the BCCI had already informed the ACC officials that the Indian team would not accept the trophy if Mohsin Naqvi attended the ceremony. However, Naqvi rejected the proposal, prompting the BCCI to pull out of the official presentation ceremony. “We did not want to be part of the presentation in line with our previous stand from a year and a half ago (men’s Asia Cup). We are yet to receive our men’s Asia Cup. But we want to keep our position intact by giving respect to a lot of our people who have given their lives at the hands of some foreign mercenaries,” Saikia was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times . “The BCCI congratulates the women’s team for their thumping win in the Asia Cup. The whole country is totally elated and proud of our cricketers. At some stage, we will get both trophies back,” he added.
