The Indian women's cricket team skipped the Women's Asia Cup 2026 trophy presentation after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) it would not participate if Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi handed over the trophy.
India comprehensively beat Sri Lanka in the final on Sept. 13 to lift the Asia Cup in Dubai. They posted a dauting 183/5 and bowled out their opponents for 111, winning by 72 runs.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told NDTV that he had personally informed the ACC chairman about the board's position ahead of the ceremony.
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"We communicated with ACC, and yesterday I personally informed the ACC chairman that we won't be part of the presentation ceremony if it is done in the same manner as done in case of the men's cricket team, they did not want to change their position, so we had no option," Saikia told NDTV.
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Saikia said the BCCI considered its decision a way of honouring the victims of the Pahalgam attack.
"We have honoured all the victims of the Pahalgam attack by not attending the ceremony," Saikia said.
Saikia also said that both the men's and women's Asia Cup trophies would soon arrive in India.
"We can assure very soon we will not only get the Women's Asia Cup trophy but also the Men's Asia Cup trophy," Saikia added.
He also alleged that the ACC was not following the established tradition for trophy presentations.
"When present ICC chair was in ACC, it was the normal traditional practice that winning team office-bearer to hand over the trophy. But since last year, they are not following this tradition," Saikia added.
The BCCI secretary said the board had offered an alternative arrangement to the ACC for the trophy presentation, but the proposal was not accepted.
"We had also requested that they could have done the presentation by the president or the vice chairman," he said.
Saikia said the BCCI's position was linked to Naqvi's roles as PCB chief and Pakistan's interior minister.
"Our position is very clear, that the chairman is also the interior minister of a country with which we don't have a friendly relationship, specially after Pahalgam incident, so will not receive a trophy from him."
He added that India would have attended the ceremony if ACC deputy chairman Khalid had presented the trophy.
"If ACC deputy chairman Khalid sahab would have have done the presentation, we would have attended, this was our suggestion as well. But our suggestion was not granted so we had no other options," Saikia concluded.
BCCI Bullish On India's T20 Prospects
Saikia also expressed confidence in the work being done to strengthen the Indian women's team in the T20 format.
The Indian women's cricket team won the 50-over World Cup for the first time in 2025, and the BCCI secretary indicated that the team is now being backed strongly in the T20 format as well.
“We are basically trying to build our team in the T20 format for the ICC T20 World Cup. In T20 format in women's cricket we have challenges, and our target is the Asian Games,” Saikia added.
“We are only aiming for the gold medal for both men and women's cricket in Asian Games,” the BCCI secretary added.
The BCCI is confident about India's chances of winning gold in both men's and women's cricket at the Asian Games 2026.
With the Indian women's team continuing to make progress across formats, the board remains confident about its prospects in upcoming international competitions.
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