Harmanpreet Kaur-led India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Ground, Dubai, to clinch a record-extending eighth Asia Cup title, but the players did not come out on the field for the post-tournament presentation ceremonies.
This was not the end of the humiliation for Naqvi as the fans present in the stadium shouted “trophy chor (thief)”, denoting him as the person who steals trophies. The Asia Cup trophy impasse continued for the second year in a row after the victorious Indian women’s cricket team on Sunday did not accept the cup from Pakistan’s Mohsin Naqvi, who is the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman.
The Indian team is yet to receive the Asia Cup trophy, which has since been kept in the ACC office. However, this time, the Indian women’s team members did not even return to the ground after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia presented Nandini Sharma with an in-house best fielder medal. However, the Sri Lankan team received the runners-up cheque from Naqvi, and before that, all the players and support staff accepted medals from SLC interim chief Eran Wikramaratne.
It is worth noting that the Indian men’s team had last year declined to receive the Asia Cup trophy and medals from Naqvi, who heads the Pakistan Cricket Board and is also the Interior Minister of that country.
