India’s women cricketers beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs to win a record-extending eighth Women’s Asia Cup title in Dubai on Sunday, September 13, but the champions never picked up the trophy, once again declining to accept it from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
Openers Shafali Verma (68) and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (59) put on 129 runs in just 12.5 overs to power India to 183 for five in 20 overs. Shafali’s fifty came off 24 balls, the fastest in the tournament’s history, eclipsing Mandhana’s own 25-ball fifty from the 2022 edition.
Left-arm spinner Shree Charani took 4 for 20 and off-spinner Deepti Sharma picked up three wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 111, with skipper Chamari Athapaththu top-scoring with 36. Deepti dismissed both Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne in the 10th over to end Sri Lanka’s only real stand of the innings, a 58-run second-wicket partnership.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side did not return to the field for the post-match presentation, leaving the trophy uncollected for the second year running. Naqvi, who also serves as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and as Pakistan’s Interior Minister, was to have handed over the trophy as ACC chief.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia instead presented Nandini Sharma with an in-house best fielder medal on the sidelines, while the Indian players skipped the ceremony entirely. Sri Lanka’s team did take part, collecting their runners-up cheque from Naqvi and medals from Sri Lanka Cricket interim chief Eran Wikramaratne. Naqvi left the stadium shortly after, without the trophy this time.
The Indian men’s team had made an identical decision after winning the Asia Cup final against Pakistan in September 2025, with that trophy still held at the ACC office.
Saikia later said the women’s team’s decision was meant to echo the men’s team’s stance from last year, in comments carried by Hindustan Times. He said India’s ties with Pakistan had changed since the Pahalgam terror attack of April 2025, and that citizens had pushed for the two countries to stop playing each other even though government policy required India to compete against all sides in multinational events.
“But that doesn’t mean we will follow every condition laid out for us,” Saikia said. “Our military conflict is still ongoing. One of the main leaders 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.”
He added that the boycott took nothing away from the team’s campaign. “It doesn’t diminish the performances of our team. We have won all our matches in a one-sided manner,” he said, pointing to the boycott as a sign of how far women’s cricket in India has come, with focus already shifting to the 2026 International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Cup.
Saikia also addressed visuals of him seated near Naqvi and BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla in the Royal Box during the match, saying it was routine protocol to greet whoever came by and that his conversation with Naqvi’s side concerned the Asian Games, not the trophy. He said attempts to resolve the presentation issue before the ceremony did not succeed, but the board had no regrets, since its priority was the team’s win rather than who handed over the trophy.
The Pahalgam attack had earlier led India’s men to refuse a handshake with Pakistan during the 2025 Asia Cup, besides declining the trophy from Naqvi; the women’s team followed the same approach during the ODI World Cup and other tournaments since.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the team on X, calling the win a “proud moment for Indian cricket,” while Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the team’s run through the tournament as one of “undisputed dominance.”
This post was last modified on September 14, 2026 9:06 am