Two trophies are sitting in a Dubai office instead of on a shelf at Wankhede, and nobody at the BCCI is promising when that will change. India’s men refused the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi last September, the women repeated the stance this month, and now a letter to Olympic organisers wants the same treatment applied at the Asian Games. The politics haven’t cooled at all, and the ceremony delays keep piling up on both sides. Here’s where things actually stand before the Games play out in Japan.
A Timeline of Two Refusals
India’s men beat Pakistan in the 28 September 2025 final in Dubai, then refused the trophy from ACC president Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister. The ceremony stalled for over an hour before he left the podium with the trophy still in hand. India celebrated with a mock replica instead. Naqvi later offered to let BCCI collect it from the ACC office in Dubai; BCCI declined.
Date | Event | What Happened to the Trophy |
|---|---|---|
28 Sep 2025 | Men’s Asia Cup final, Dubai | India refused it from Naqvi; trophy stayed with ACC |
13 Sep 2026 | Women’s Asia Cup final, Dubai | India refused it again after beating Sri Lanka |
19 Sep 2026 | BCCI’s 95th AGM, Mumbai | Saikia says both trophies will land in Mumbai eventually |
Asia Cup Trophy Row India Asian Games 2026
Harmanpreet Kaur’s team beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs on 13 September and walked straight past another Naqvi presentation, holding their own medal moment in the dressing room instead. BCCI had flagged the refusal to the ACC in advance this time, framing it as a firm institutional call rather than a spur-of-the-moment snub.
Secretary Devajit Saikia addressed it directly at the board’s AGM in Mumbai six days later, saying only that both trophies would eventually reach Wankhede Stadium without offering any date. He added that the underlying situation hadn’t shifted in a year and a half, which tells you more about where this stands than any promise of resolution does.
The IOA Letter and OCA Silence
On 16 September, the Indian Olympic Association wrote to organisers in Japan asking that no Pakistani official appear at ceremonies involving India’s cricket teams. As of the most recent reporting, the Olympic Council of Asia hadn’t issued any formal reply. Coverage is split on what India can actually do about it: some reports say Delhi has no power to block Naqvi if the OCA assigns him a role, while others warn India could face sanctions for skipping a ceremony outright. Saikia’s own response, given at the same AGM, was to say the board would deal with that particular bridge only once it actually reached it.
Medal Rules for the Nisshin Ceremony
Under OCA Article 66, medals are presented by the OCA president, currently Qatar’s Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, who can delegate to another member accompanied by the relevant federation’s own representative. That representative, in cricket’s case, is Naqvi’s ACC. Naqvi holds no OCA post himself, so his presence at any medal ceremony depends entirely on that delegation, not on any automatic right.
History offers a workaround: at Hangzhou 2023, an Indian official, Raja Randhir Singh, presented the women’s cricket gold as OCA acting president. Whether Nisshin follows that precedent is still an open question, with the women’s final already done and the men’s tournament yet to begin.
A Pattern of No Handshakes
The freeze traces back to the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, after which BCCI adopted a blanket no-handshake policy against Pakistan. It has held through nine separate fixtures since, from the 2025 Asia Cup group game through this year’s Women’s World Cup, both Asia Cup finals, and every underage tournament played in between, including the under-19 editions that winter. At the Asian Games itself, the two sides won’t clash in the women’s event since Pakistan lost their semi-final to Sri Lanka, leaving India to face the Sri Lankans again in the gold medal match on 22 September.
The men’s draw, running from 24 September to 3 October, keeps India and Pakistan apart until a possible final or bronze match, so the next flashpoint may not even arrive at the Nisshin venue at all. Even so, the Asia Cup trophy row and India’s Asian Games 2026 standoff show no sign of a resolution before either medal ceremony plays out in Japan.
Do you think India should skip an Asian Games ceremony entirely if Naqvi is involved? Have your say below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why did India refuse the Asia Cup trophy from Mohsin Naqvi?
India objected to Naqvi presenting it while serving as a Pakistani government minister. BCCI called it an institutional decision, taken by the men in September 2025 and repeated by the women a year later.
Where are the Asia Cup trophies being kept right now?
Both the men’s and women’s trophies remain at the ACC office in Dubai. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed this on 19 September, without giving any date for their return.
Will India and Pakistan meet at the 2026 Asian Games?
The women’s teams will not meet after Pakistan’s semi-final exit. In the men’s event, the two sides sit in opposite halves of the draw, so a clash is only possible in the final.
What did the IOA ask Asian Games organisers for?
The IOA requested that no Pakistani official attend India’s cricket medal ceremonies. The letter went out on 16 September, and organisers hadn’t issued a public response as of the latest update.
Who presents medals under Olympic Council of Asia rules?
The OCA president normally presents Games medals, with delegations allowed to present them to other officials. At Hangzhou 2023, that delegation went to an Indian official for the women’s cricket gold.