India's unprecedented eighth women's Asia Cup title victory ended in scenes similar to those at the men's Asia Cup last year, with the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side neither presented medals nor the trophy on Sunday night in Dubai.
The presentation ceremony after India's 72-run win over Sri Lanka in Dubai was delayed by nearly 50 minutes, with Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the PCB chief and the interior minister of Pakistan, in attendance as medals were presented to the runners-up. The ceremony was abruptly ended after that.
As the wait for the post-tournament presentation began, the India team conducted their own medal presentation for the best fielder, handed out by fielding coach Munish Bali. The medal was presented to Nandani Sharma by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, with vice-president Rajeev Shukla in attendance.
The turn of events mirrored the men's Asia Cup final last September, which concluded with India refusing to accept the trophy from Naqvi. At the time, Saikia had said the team didn't want to take the trophy from someone who also happened to be "one of the main leaders of Pakistan".
*On Monday morning, Saikia said it had been a "firm institutional decision" from India not to take part in the official trophy presentation.
"We had taken a conscious decision considering all prevailing aspects, and our position had been communicated to the ACC in advance, that the Indian team would not participate in the trophy presentation under the circumstances," Saikia told PTI. "Given the circumstances and the sentiments prevailing in the country, the BCCI felt that it would not be appropriate for the team to receive the trophy in the proposed manner.
"This was a firm institutional decision, reflective of the position we have maintained, and was not directed at the players, the tournament or the sport."
Naqvi's presence at the presentation ceremony on Sunday was expected to be a flashpoint. Ever since cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan took a turn for the worse in May 2025, India's players have avoided shaking hands with Pakistan players and their representatives. The men didn't do it last year. The women didn't do it this year.
"That stand has been taken by BCCI and we stand by it," India coach Amol Muzumdar said at the press conference afterwards. "For us, this tournament is over, we are the champions. That's good enough. It was on the big board that India are the champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us. We're happy that we're the champions and we look forward to the Asian Games."
Although interviewing the winning captain at the post-match presentation is the norm, Harmanpreet was interviewed separately on the broadcast, a few minutes after India sealed the win.
"I think we played to our standards because that's what we discussed when we came here. We have certain standards, and we have to keep matching them every day," she said. "We are very happy with the way we all performed. And I think the girls have done fabulously well throughout the entire tournament, setting [a target of] 184 in a final. That's a big thing."
Harmanpreet reserved special praise for Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who put on 129 for the opening wicket to set the tone, with both batters hitting aggressive half-centuries.
"We all knew it's not that easy to bat [on Dubai's slow pitches], but I think our openers did an absolutely great job for us, the way they both batted, Smriti and Shafali," Harmanpreet said. "It's all about playing good cricket, and at the end of the day, I'm very happy overall."
*September 14, GMT 0520 The article was updated with Devajit Saikia's clarification of the BCCI stance.
