Women’s Asia Cup Final: Mohsin Naqvi To Attend, Trophy Drama Looms If India Win

Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of both the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is reportedly set to attend the Women's Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai on September 13, raising fresh questions about whether a repeat of last year's controversial trophy presentation could unfold if India's women's team wins the title. According to a report by Geo Super, Naqvi has been named the chief guest for the tournament's closing ceremony and could once again be involved in handing over the trophy to the winning side.

The situation carries direct echoes of the men's Asia Cup final in September 2025, when India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, defeated Pakistan in a final-over thriller in Dubai but refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi following the match. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia later confirmed that India had declined to receive the trophy specifically because of Naqvi's dual role as ACC president and Pakistan's sitting Interior Minister. An alternative proposal to have Emirates Cricket Board Vice-Chairman Khalid Al Zarooni present the trophy instead was reportedly turned down, and the post-match ceremony was delayed for over an hour before an official eventually removed the trophy from the presentation stage, leaving India's players to celebrate their title without physically lifting the silverware.

India's women's team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, has entered this year's tournament as the clear favorite and remains unbeaten heading toward the final, positioning them as the most likely side to face the same dilemma that confronted the men's team a year earlier. Tensions between the two camps have also surfaced during the group stage, with Indian players reportedly declining to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts across all three encounters between the sides this tournament, mirroring the diplomatic strain that has defined recent India-Pakistan cricketing contests amid broader geopolitical tensions between the two nations.

Also Read: IND Women vs THA Women: Pratika Rawal Debuts as India Start Batting Against Thailand

BCCI officials have previously attempted to defuse the standoff outside the cricketing arena. Saikia reportedly met with Naqvi on the sidelines of an ICC meeting in Scotland last month in an effort to resolve the impasse, at the time suggesting that the "ice had been broken" between the two parties, though the core issue of the trophy presentation was said to remain unresolved. Naqvi, for his part, has maintained that India would need to collect the silverware directly from him should the situation arise again, keeping the underlying dispute alive even months after last year's final concluded.

Naqvi's path to prominence within Pakistani cricket administration came through politics rather than a background in the sport itself; he served as caretaker chief minister of Punjab province from January 2023 to February 2024 before his appointment to lead the PCB. His influence within regional cricket governance has since expanded further, with PCB-backed candidates sweeping all three contested ACC board seats during the organization's Annual General Meeting in Bangkok in August 2026.

As the tournament moves toward its conclusion, India's women's team faces the dual challenge of completing an unbeaten campaign to reclaim the Asia Cup title while managing the possibility that any celebration could once again be overshadowed by an off-field standoff. Should Harmanpreet Kaur's side lift the trophy on September 13, the presentation ceremony is likely to draw significant attention regardless of the outcome, given the precedent set by the men's final and the unresolved questions surrounding Naqvi's role in presenting the award to an Indian team.

Also Read: IND Women vs THA Women: Harmanpreet Kaur’s Team Eye Winning Start In Women’s Asia Cup 2026