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India's eighth Women's Asia Cup win was followed by an equally stunning sight in Dubai as the champions failed to collect their prize. Having beaten Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final, Harmanpreet Kaur and the Indian team refused to accept the cup presented by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi.

Recalling the same controversy around the men's Asia Cup final last year, with India also declining to accept the trophy from Naqvi, India women's head coach Amol Muzumdar stated that the team has no intention of letting the issue overshadow their victory.

India Women Stand By BCCI's Decision After Asia Cup Triumph

The episode began after India registered a convincing win over Sri Lanka. Chasing down India's 183/5, Sri Lanka could only manage 111 as Sree Charani bowled a brilliant spell to pick up four wickets.

However, despite registering a win, the victory ceremony did not go as expected. ACC president Naqvi, also Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, was present in Dubai to present the trophy. However, India's players refused to receive it from him.

It is believed that the BCCI had already taken the stand a day before the final. Therefore, the episode was not unexpected to the fans. In fact, it was the same issue when India won the men's Asia Cup final in 2025, also hosted by Pakistan. Despite clinching the title, India's men did not receive the trophy from Naqvi as well.

Muzumdar supported BCCI's stand and believed it was the right decision.

“We have taken this stand, and we are standing by it. For us, it's a victory, and this tournament is over, officially,” he said. “We are the champions. This is good enough for us.”

We Are The Champions: Amol Muzumdar Draw The Line

Muzumdar further stated that no matter how the trophy was presented, it would not overshadow India's victory.

“I am delighted that we have done what we have done. It was on the big board that India were the champions of Asia Cup 2026. We are happy that we have turned out to be champions. Now, we are looking forward to the Asian Games,” he added.

India's head coach said that the entire support staff and the players were unanimous about the BCCI's stand.

“The stand has been taken by the BCCI, and we're united and standing by it. For us, this tournament is over. The fact that we're champions, we're really glad, and I'm really proud of every single person in this unit, including the support staff and the players, needless to say. We're looking forward to the Asian Games now.”

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later joined in to explain what prompted the BCCI to take such a stand.

“Our men's team had won the Asia Cup a year and a half ago. And, our whole situation, since the April 2025 Pahalgam incident, changed after that. So, after that, there was pressure on us from our citizens that we should not keep any relations with our neighboring country and not play cricket with them. However, our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments,” he explained.

Overall, it must be noted that India's performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2026 does not seem to be affected in any way by the incident in Dubai. The eighth women's Asia Cup victory has seen India register a win against the sub-continent rivals on both fronts – batting and bowling. And now, with the Asian Games just around the corner, Amol Muzumdar and his team are looking forward to winning again. However, for now, it seems like the headlines about the Women's Asia Cup 2026 final will continue to involve the issue of the trophy.