The Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final ended with another uncomfortable trophy presentation involving Mohsin Naqvi.
India Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 72 runs in the final in Dubai to win their record-extending eighth Asia Cup title. However, the celebrations soon turned into another controversy.
The Indian team did not collect the trophy from Naqvi, who serves as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman.
Naqvi stayed on the presentation podium and waited to hand over the trophy. However, Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates did not come forward. He later handed the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu before leaving the stadium.
As Naqvi walked away, fans inside the Dubai International Cricket Stadium started chanting “Trophy chor, trophy chor”.
The phrase has a history. Fans first started using it after the Asia Cup 2025 final between India and Pakistan, which also ended with a controversial trophy presentation.
‘Trophy chor’ returns after another Mohsin Naqvi trophy controversy
Fans chanted “Trophy Chor, Trophy Chor” when they saw Mohsin Naqvi leaving the stadium.😭🙏 pic.twitter.com/XljKlQLVHB
— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) September 13, 2026
India’s decision not to collect the trophy from Naqvi immediately reminded fans of last year’s India vs Pakistan final.
India had beaten Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup final in Dubai. However, the post-match presentation took more than an hour to begin. The Indian players waited while officials reportedly took the trophy away from the presentation area.
Naqvi became the centre of the controversy because of his roles as ACC president and PCB chairman. The incident quickly became a major topic on social media, where users started calling him “Trophy chor.”
That label returned during the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final.
This time, India Women had just beaten Sri Lanka Women comfortably and were ready to celebrate another major title. Instead, the trophy presentation became one of the biggest talking points of the night.
Fans inside the stadium joined the chants. Social media users also brought back the same phrase while discussing Naqvi.
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India reportedly had other options, but neither side moved
According to Rahul Rawat, Senior Editor at India Today and Aaj Tak, the Indian team did not want to accept the trophy from Naqvi from the start.
Rawat said on X that the BCCI offered another option. ACC deputy chairman Khalid Al Zarooni could have presented the trophy to the Indian team instead of Naqvi. However, Naqvi reportedly did not accept the proposal.
Another option also came up during the discussions. Under the recent practice, a representative of the board whose team wins the tournament could potentially present the trophy.
However, neither side changed its position.
Mohsin Naqvi stayed on the podium, while the Indian team did not come forward to collect the trophy from him.
This created an unusual scene. India had won the tournament but did not take part in the usual trophy handover.
Why India refused to accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, Saikia said
A key reason behind India’s decision was explained by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in an exclusive interview with Sports Tak.
He said the Pahalgam attack in April 2025 changed the relationship between India and Pakistan, with the Indian government’s policy still allowing cricket against Pakistan in multinational tournaments.
However, Saikia stressed that this does not mean India has to accept every condition. He said Naqvi represents Pakistan’s leadership, which India views as being involved in the ongoing conflict, so the team was not comfortable receiving the trophy from him.
Saikia added that India had requested ACC deputy chairman Khalid Al Zarooni to present the trophy, but that request was not accepted.
India had already achieved that goal.
India Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 72 runs in the final. The victory completed another strong IND W vs SL W result and gave India another continental title.
The Royal Box meeting created another talking point
Naqvi’s presence in the Royal Box during the final also attracted attention.
Naqvi sat alongside BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla and secretary Devajit Saikia during the match. Pictures of the officials speaking with Naqvi received attention after the trophy controversy.
However, Saikia said there was nothing unusual about the interaction.
He explained that officials sitting together during a match was normal. He also said he stayed in the Royal Box throughout the game.
According to Saikia, different officials came over during the match, spoke to each other, and sat together. He described his interaction with Naqvi as part of the normal tradition at a cricket match.
He also said officials tried to find a solution to the trophy presentation issue, but they could not reach an agreement.
Two ways to look at India’s decision
So @BCCIWomen won Asia Cup and refused to take the winners trophy from trophy chor Mohsin Naqvi. Well done🔥 pic.twitter.com/4LK35qP9kg
— Smita Deshmukh🇮🇳 (@smitadeshmukh) September 14, 2026
There are two very different ways to view what happened in Dubai.
One view is that India deliberately refused to take the trophy from Naqvi as a symbolic message. From this perspective, the decision was about more than the trophy. It showed India’s position amid the ongoing India Pakistan political issues.
The other view is that India could have simply accepted the trophy, lifted it, celebrated its victory, and shown Naqvi and Pakistan that we are the ‘CHAMPIONS’.
After all, the trophy belonged to the tournament winner and not to the person presenting it.
The cricketing result was clear. India won the final, Sri Lanka finished as runners-up, and India added another Asia Cup title to its record.
However, the scenes at the podium ensured that the Mohsin Naqvi trophy controversy once again became one of the biggest talking points around an India-Pakistan cricket event.
What are your thoughts on this whole controversy? Let us know in the comments.
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