NEW DELHI: India’s women’s cricket team’s decision not to receive the Women’s Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi was a show of solidarity with the men’s team, which took the same position after winning the Asia Cup last year, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said.“Our men’s team won the Asia Cup a year and a half ago. And our whole situation, since the April 2025 Pahalgam incident, changed after that. So, after that, there was pressure on us from our citizens that we shouldn’t keep any relations with our neighboring country and not play cricket with them. But our government has a policy that we must play against every country in multinational tournaments…” Saikia told IANS hours after India beat Sri Lanka in Sunday’s final.“But that doesn’t mean we will follow every condition laid out for us. Our military conflict is still ongoing. One of the main leaders who is working against the interests of our country; we can’t receive the trophy from him. The Women’s team has expressed solidarity with the decision taken by the men’s team last year,” Saikia said.The decision brought back memories of the controversial presentation after the men’s Asia Cup final in 2025. India had beaten Pakistan in the final, but the players were left waiting for more than an hour to receive the trophy and medals.This time, India had completed a comfortable 72-run victory over Sri Lanka to win a record-extending eighth Women’s Asia Cup title. Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates celebrated on the field, but the Indian side did not collect the trophy from Naqvi during the presentation.Naqvi was present at the stadium as India sealed the title and was seated alongside dignitaries including BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla and Saikia. He later went on stage and handed the runners-up cheque to Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu. The presentation then ended without India receiving the trophy from him.Saikia said the decision did not take away from the team’s performance.“It doesn’t diminish the performances of our team. We have won all our matches in a one-sided manner. Women’s cricket has been growing so well in India and there’s no bigger evidence of that than this. Our whole planning is geared towards the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. The happiest part of this tournament is how India has left everyone else behind and surged so far ahead.”The presence of Naqvi alongside Saikia and Shukla in the Royal Box during the match also led to questions about the interaction between the officials.“It’s not as if we wouldn’t meet anyone. I was sitting outside in the Royal Box seats right from the toss until the end of the game. Having sat there, I remained in that same place throughout the match. Everyone who came met me during the match; someone sat next to me, then Shukla came and sat with me. The person you mentioned also came and sat alongside Deputy Chairman Khalid (Khalid Al Zarooni) sahib. That’s just a normal tradition—whenever anyone comes, we meet and talk with everyone,” Saikia said.Saikia said there had been an attempt to resolve the trophy presentation issue.“We tried to solve today’s situation, but our efforts were not successful. We don’t have any regrets. Our ultimate priority and ambition was not to focus on who would give the trophy. We wanted the Indian team to win and we’ve achieved that.”He also said his interaction with Naqvi was not centred on the trophy. Saikia had presented the fielding medal after the game and said the conversation around that was about India’s next assignment.“I also got the chance to give the fielding medal that’s given out after every game. The conversation that was had around that was about the Asian Games, not about whether the trophy should be taken or not.”India’s attention now shifts to the Asian Games in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture. The team is scheduled to play on September 18, 20 and 22.“Currently, there are no such plans. Right now, our focus is on tomorrow, as our team will be leaving for Japan via Delhi. So, all our attention is set on the Asian Games starting in Japan, where our matches are scheduled for the 18th, 20th and 22nd. Our goal is to bring home the gold medal, and that is our sole objective.”
