‘We’ll meet everyone’: Mohsin Naqvi meets BCCI’s Rajeev Shukla and Devajit Saikia after Asia Cup final as Team India misses out on trophy

Mohsin Naqvi, Devajit Saikia. (Photo/Screenshot) The Asia Cup drama continued for the second consecutive year after the Indian women’s cricket team was denied the trophy by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi after winning the title in Dubai on Sunday.Harmanpreet Kaur-led India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs to claim a record-long eighth Women’s Asia Cup title. But after the match, the Indian players did not return to the field for the handing over ceremony where Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s interior minister, was present.Hours after the final, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia defended the decision, saying the situation had changed after the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.“Our men’s team won the Asia Cup a year-and-a-half ago. And our whole situation, since the Pahalgam incident in April 2025, changed after that. So after that there was pressure on us from our citizens that we should not maintain any relations with our neighboring country and not play cricket with them. But our government has a policy that we have to play against every country on MNAs,” Saikia told IANS.“But that doesn’t mean we will abide by all the conditions that were given to us. Our military conflict is still going on. One of the main leaders who is working against the interests of our country; we cannot take the trophy from him. The women’s team expressed solidarity with the decision taken by the men’s team last year,” Saikia said.However, TV cameras showed Saikia meeting Naqvi during the match. As the players shook hands after the final, the broadcast showed the Royal Box at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium where Naqvi first greeted BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and then held an interview with Saikia.When asked about this meeting, Saikia said that it was part of the normal match day protocol and was not against the BCCI’s stand on the presentation of the trophy.“It’s not that we didn’t meet anyone. I sat outside in the Royal Box seats right from the draw to the end of the game. When I sat there, I stayed in the same place throughout the match. Everyone who came met me during the match; someone sat next to me, then Rajeev Shukla came and sat with me. The person you mentioned (Naqvi), the normal chairman also came – Khawlid Sathiever next to whoever. He will come, we’ll meet and talk to everyone.”It may be recalled that the Indian men’s team last year refused to receive the Asia Cup trophy and medals from Naqvi, who heads the Pakistan Cricket Board and is also the home minister of the country.The Indian team is yet to win the Asia Cup trophy, which has been kept at the ACC office ever since.Instead, the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian side staged an impromptu on-stage celebration with no physical prize.However, this time the members of the Indian women’s team did not even return to the ground after BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia presented Nandini Sharma with the in-house medal for the best fielder.