India decline Asia Cup trophy from ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi after Dubai final

India’s women’s cricket team refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi after defeating Sri Lanka in the final in Dubai on Sunday.

India has repeatedly won Asia Cup titles while declining to participate fully in post-match presentations; both the men’s and women’s sides have taken continental crowns in Dubai, with Suryakumar Yadav’s men beating Pakistan last year and Harmanpreet Kaur’s women easing past Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The post-match presentation became an anti-climax when India declined the trophy handed by Mohsin Naqvi. Naqvi is identified in reporting as the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and the Federal Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control.

The episode has been linked in coverage to the strained Indo-Pak relationship and longstanding mutual hostility across the border. Reporting notes that last year’s Pahalgam terror attack worsened fragile ties and that the Indian teams avoided customary handshakes with opposition players.

Coverage also states that the Board of Control for Cricket in India instructed players to remain aloof, and that the Central Government’s role in the situation cannot be overlooked. Comment in the original piece described the refusal to attend the post-match formalities as damaging to the sport’s niceties.

The commentary criticised the conduct of both men’s and women’s teams, saying they had been churlish in behaviour and adding: "You don’t win titles and return empty-handed, Indian cricketers have notoriously made this a fine art."

The piece concludes by observing: "Naqvi the politician may have made negative remarks about India in the past, but to use that as a crutch and refuse to turn up at the post-match presentation reflects poorly on the Indian cricket firmament."