The match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium ended close to 9:50pm (17:50 GMT), but the ceremony did not get under way until 10:40pm (18:40 GMT).<\/p>\n
Once the temporary stage for the handing over of awards was set up, Naqvi was seen standing alongside other dignitaries as the ceremony began. Match officials were the first to be presented with their medallions before the Sri Lankan players stepped up for their medals.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu received the runners-up award from Naqvi and then proceeded to speak about her team\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
However, no individual awards, including Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, were handed out, and neither was the Indian team called up to receive their medals or the trophy.<\/p>\n
India won the tournament for a record-extending eighth time.<\/p>\n
The tournament\u2019s official social media accounts did not post any trophy celebration images.<\/p>\n
The Indian Women\u2019s cricket team\u2019s social media account posted a group photo of the team and coaching staff in what appeared to be an empty stadium shortly after the conclusion of the award ceremony.<\/p>\n
Why did India refuse the trophy?<\/p>\n
Images and videos posted on social media showed the Indian team and support staff standing in a circle outside their dressing room ahead of the ceremony. They were not seen near the stage once it got under way, and no explanation was provided for their absence.<\/p>\n
Indian cricket team\u2019s head coach Amol Muzumdar said the decision to not accept the trophy was taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).<\/p>\n
\u201cThat stand has been taken by the BCCI, and we stand by it,\u201d he said in his post-match press conference when asked why the Indian team did not appear for the presentation ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tournament is over,\u201d Muzumdar added. \u201cWe are the champions, and that\u2019s good enough [for us].\u201d<\/p>\n
The tournament\u2019s organisers, the ACC, and the Indian cricket board did not respond to Al Jazeera\u2019s request for a comment.<\/p>\n
The scene was reminiscent of a similar incident from last September, when India beat Pakistan to win the Men\u2019s Asian Cup at the same venue but refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi<\/a>, who headed the ACC then, as well.<\/p>\n He is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.<\/p>\n Shortly after the row at the men\u2019s final, BCCI Chairman Devajit Saikia confirmed that India\u2019s refusal was based on Naqvi\u2019s presence as the leading figure of the ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan,\u201d Saikia then told Indian media.<\/p>\n India-Pakistan relations have been troubled for years. But they plummeted further after armed attackers killed 26 men in Pahalgam, a tourism site in Indian-administered Kashmir, on April 22, 2025.<\/p>\n The Resistance Front (TRF)<\/a>, an armed group which demands Kashmir\u2019s independence, claimed responsibility for the attack. India alleges that TRF is a branch of the Pakistan-based armed group, the\u00a0Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),<\/a>\u00a0an allegation Islamabad denies.<\/p>\n Following the attack, the two countries scaled back diplomatic relations, and India suspended its participation in the\u00a0Indus Waters Treaty<\/a>.<\/p>\n On May 7, 2025, India launched multiple missile attacks<\/a>\u00a0on sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir under what it called\u00a0Operation Sindoor<\/a>. India said it struck nine sites in Pakistan, which said dozens of civilians were killed.<\/p>\n Three days later, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan Marsoos<\/a>, targeting at least six Indian military sites and killing at least five Indians, according to Indian authorities.<\/p>\n![\"Indian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/VJR075161-1789322592.jpg\")
India\u2019s players celebrate after winning the Women\u2019s T20 Asia Cup 2026 against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium [Courtesy Asian Cricket Council]Troubled India-Pakistan ties<\/p>\n