Will Indian women get the Asia Cup trophy if they win? Naqvi will attend the closing ceremony

An awkward presentation ceremony could once again become a theme if India Women go all the way in the Women’s Asia Cup T20, with ACC president Mohsin Naqvi expected to attend the final in Dubai. According to Geo Super, Naqvi is scheduled to be the chief guest at the closing ceremony on September 13 and could present the trophy to the champions.

This option is likely to attract attention due to what happened in last year’s men’s Asian Cup final. India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in Dubai to retain the title, but the presentation ceremony ended without the Indian team receiving the trophy from Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s interior minister.

WHAT HAPPENED AT LAST YEAR’S ASIA CUP MEN’S FINAL?

Following India’s victory in the 2025 final, the presentation ceremony was delayed by over an hour due to a deadlock over the presentation of the trophy. India has made it clear that it does not wish to receive the trophy from Naqvi and is ready to accept it from a neutral official.

However, the trophy was not handed over in the endwith India celebrating their title without silver on the podium.

The episode added another layer to an already politically charged tournament and raised questions about whether a similar situation could arise if India Women win this year’s competition. However, there was no indication from the Indian team or the BCCI as to how they would approach a potential presentation involving Naqvi.

INDIA WOMEN ENTER SEMI-FINALS UNDEFEATED

For now, India’s focus is firmly on cricket. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side started their campaign impressively by winning all three of their group matches to book their place in the semi-finals.

India started their campaign with a 94-run victory over Thailand before producing an even bigger performance against Hong Kong. Smriti Mandhana smashed a record 124 off 64 balls to help India post 193 for five before the bowlers dismissed Hong Kong for 56. The 137-run win was India’s second-biggest win in women’s T20I cricket.

India then completed a dominant seven-wicket win over PakistanSree Charani and Prema Rawat claimed three wickets as India chased down the target in just 8.4 overs. The win maintained India’s unbeaten run and strengthened their position at the top of Group A.

With India now in the knockout stages, the question of the trophy could eventually become inevitable. If Harmanpreet and her team lift the title on September 13, do they collect the silverware from Naqvi or could there be a repeat of last year’s extraordinary scenes?

For now, this remains an unanswered question.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

06 Sep 2026 22:31 IST