India won the Women's Asia Cup cricket final in Dubai on Sunday, beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs, but the champions did not appear for the trophy presentation. The ceremony became controversial because the trophy was due to be handed over by Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, who also serves as Pakistan's interior minister. The post-match ceremony was delayed by more than 45 minutes, with players from both sides waiting outside their dressing rooms. The match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium ended close to 9:50pm (17:50 GMT), but the ceremony did not get under way until 10:40pm (18:40 GMT).
When the temporary stage for the handing over of awards was set up, Naqvi was seen standing alongside other dignitaries as the ceremony began. Match officials were the first to be presented with their medallions before the Sri Lankan players stepped up for their medals. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu received the runners-up award from Naqvi and then proceeded to speak about her team’s performance. However, no individual awards, including Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, were handed out, and neither was the Indian team called up to receive their medals or the trophy.
India won the tournament for a record-extending eighth time. The tournament’s official social media accounts did not post any trophy celebration images. The Indian Women’s cricket team’s social media account posted a group photo of the team and coaching staff in what appeared to be an empty stadium shortly after the conclusion of the award ceremony. Images and videos posted on social media showed the Indian team and support staff standing in a circle outside their dressing room ahead of the ceremony. They were not seen near the stage once it got under way, and no explanation was provided for their absence.
Indian cricket team’s head coach Amol Muzumdar said the decision to not accept the trophy was taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “That stand has been taken by the BCCI, and we stand by it,” he said in his post-match press conference when asked why the Indian team did not appear for the presentation ceremony. “The tournament is over,” Muzumdar added. “We are the champions, and that’s good enough [for us].” The tournament’s organisers, the ACC, and the Indian cricket board did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for a comment.
The scene was reminiscent of a similar incident from last September, when India beat Pakistan to win the Men’s Asian Cup at the same venue but refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who headed the ACC then, as well. He is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Shortly after the row at the men’s final, BCCI Chairman Devajit Saikia confirmed that India’s refusal was based on Naqvi’s presence as the leading figure of the ceremony. “We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan,” Saikia then told Indian media.
India-Pakistan relations have been troubled for years. But they plummeted further after armed attackers killed 26 men in Pahalgam, a tourism site in Indian-administered Kashmir, on April 22, 2025.
Source: www.aljazeera.com — Read the original article
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