India's women have won the Asia Cup for a record eighth time — but for the second time this year, the team left the field in Dubai without lifting the trophy at all.
The Match: A One-Sided Final
Put in to bat after winning the toss, India posted 183 for 5 in Dubai, built on contributions through the order, before their bowlers ran through Sri Lanka for just 111. The 72-run win handed India their eighth Women's T20 Asia Cup title and capped a tournament where they were rarely troubled, even if their middle order stuttered more than once along the way — a theme that had shown up repeatedly through the group stage and semi-final.
The Standoff
The real story unfolded after the final ball. The post-match presentation was delayed by close to an hour, and when it finally began, Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi — who is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and, in his day job, Pakistan's interior minister — was on the dais to hand out the awards.
India didn't wait for him. While Naqvi and other ACC officials stood on stage, the Indian players conducted their own informal medal ceremony pitch-side, with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia handing Nandani Sharma her best-fielder medal. Social media footage showed the Indian contingent walking off the field as the official ceremony proceeded without them. Sri Lanka's players did collect their medals, and Naqvi presented captain Chamari Athapaththu with the runners-up cheque, but the trophy handover to India never happened.
India head coach Amol Muzumdar kept his explanation brief afterward, framing the decision as simply following the BCCI's position and adding that the team considers itself champion regardless of who's holding a trophy.
India's 8th Asia Cup title — but for the second time in 2026, an Indian team has walked away without collecting the trophy on stage.
Not a One-Off
This wasn't an isolated flashpoint. It's the latest chapter in a pattern that's defined nearly every India-Pakistan cricket interaction over the past year. Indian teams have skipped handshakes with Pakistan players at multiple tournaments this year, and the men's team went through an almost identical trophy standoff earlier this year — beating Pakistan three times across an Asia Cup campaign, including the final, and still refusing to accept the trophy from Naqvi each time. The India women's team had also declined to shake hands with Pakistan during their group-stage meeting in this same tournament, with Muzumdar giving the identical explanation then: it's the BCCI's call, and the team stands by it.
The backdrop is a broader spike in India-Pakistan political tensions since 2025, tension that has now bled into board-level ties, on-field etiquette, and awards ceremonies alike. Naqvi's dual role — running Pakistan cricket while sitting in Pakistan's cabinet — is precisely what India's board has pointed to as the sticking point.
Gameonfield's Stump Mic
On the field, there's no controversy: India were the better side across the tournament, and an eighth Asia Cup title is an eighth Asia Cup title, trophy or no trophy. But the diplomatic friction shows no sign of easing. With Naqvi likely to remain both PCB chief and ACC chairman for the foreseeable future, every India fixture at an ACC event — Asia Cup or otherwise — now carries the possibility of a repeat: a dominant performance on the scoreboard, followed by an entirely separate story once the cameras turn to the podium.
For a rivalry that used to be defined by bat and ball, the more consistent flashpoint in 2026 has become who's standing on the stage afterward.
Key Takeaways
- India Women beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs (183/5 to 111 all out) to win a record eighth Women's T20 Asia Cup title
- India skipped the official trophy presentation after ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi, also PCB chairman and Pakistan's interior minister, took the stage
- BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia handed out at least one medal pitch-side as India held its own informal ceremony instead
- India's men's team went through a near-identical trophy standoff with Naqvi earlier this year during their own Asia Cup campaign
- India Women had already skipped a handshake with Pakistan during this tournament's group stage, citing the same BCCI stance