Amol Muzumdar, head coach of the Indian team. File | Photo credit: ICC via Getty Images
Indian women’s cricket team head coach Amol Muzumdar said the side fully supports the BCCI’s stance of not accepting the Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan’s Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi and that winning the tournament is “good enough” for the players.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team comprehensively defeated Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday (September 14, 2026) by 72 runs to win the tournament for a record eighth time. But it refused to accept the trophy from the incumbent ACC chief, who is also his country’s home minister and also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“This is the position taken by the BCCI and we support it. This tournament is over for us. We are champions – and that’s good enough. It was on the big board that India became the 2026 Asia Cup champions,” Muzumdar told reporters after the match when asked about not accepting the trophy from Naqvi.
“This tournament is over, officially over for us. We are glad that we became champions. Now we are looking forward to the Asian Games,” he said.
The Indian women’s team’s refusal to accept the trophy from Naqvi was a repeat of the position first taken at the 2025 men’s tournament. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side did not accept the winner’s trophy from Naqvi in protest against the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people that year.
Muzumdar said he was not aware of the possibility of the team winning the trophy in the coming days.
“There is no news yet. Therefore, I cannot answer this question,” he said.
The men’s team is also yet to receive the trophy as it lies locked at the ACC headquarters in Dubai and Naqvi insists only he will present it.
Asked whether such incidents should be curbed in sports, the India head coach said: “Well, as I said earlier, my answer remains the same, my friend. This is the position taken by the BCCI and we stand united in supporting it. Absolutely”.
“For us, this tournament is officially over. The fact that we’re champions, we’re really excited about it and I’m really proud of every single person in this unit, including the support staff and the players of course.
“Now we are looking forward to the Asian Games. It is officially over,” he added, referring to the annual competition that begins on September 19 in Japan, where both the Indian men’s and women’s teams will emerge as defending champions.
Published – September 14, 2026 11:16 am EST.