India won the Women’s Asia Cup after beating Sri Lanka in the final, but the biggest talking point came after the match in Dubai.
The Harmanpreet Kaur led side refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The decision led to a delay of nearly 50 minutes in the presentation ceremony.
Naqvi had stayed away from most of the final but was spotted in the stands towards the end of the match.
He was seen sitting behind BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla and secretary Devajit Saikia. After the game, the cameras also showed BCCI officials speaking with the Indian players as discussions continued over the presentation.
The presentation eventually began, but the Indian team did not come out to collect the trophy from Naqvi.
The Sri Lankan players received their runners up medals, while their captain Chamari Athapaththu also collected the runners up cheque from the ACC president. Indian players remained inside the dressing room.
The scenes were similar to last year’s Men’s Asia Cup, when India’s men’s team also refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi.
That controversy came amid already tense relations between India and Pakistan, with the tournament being played after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
On the field, India had little trouble in the final. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put together a 129 run opening partnership after Harmanpreet Kaur chose to bat first. Mandhana scored 59, while Shafali smashed 68 as India posted 183/5.
Deepti Sharma then dismissed Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, and India went on to complete a comfortable victory.
India lifted the Women’s Asia Cup, but with the trophy presentation turning into another Naqvi controversy, was the final really about cricket alone?
