Asia Cup Trophy Row: Jay Shah’s 2022 Precedent Raises Questions Over Mohsin Naqvi

The Women's Asia Cup 2026 concluded with India claiming victory, yet they declined to attend the official trophy presentation ceremony. The Indian squad, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Dubai to claim their eighth record Women's Asia Cup title. However, this decision has reignited discussions regarding the role of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman in the trophy ceremony.

The controversy echoes a similar situation from the 2022 Asia Cup, where ACC president Jay Shah faced questions similar to those faced by Mohsin Naqvi, the ACC chief for 2026. In the 2022 final, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in Dubai, and captain Dasun Shanaka received the trophy from Sri Lanka Cricket president Shammi Silva, rather than from Jay Shah.

This pattern was also witnessed in the 2024 Women's Asia Cup, where the trophy was once again presented by Silva to the Sri Lankan women's team captain. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has highlighted these instances to question the change in the trophy presentation protocol. Saikia emphasized that the presence of the ACC president does not invariably mean that he must personally present the trophy, as seen with the Sri Lankan case.

The 2026 Indian team had previously informed the ACC that they would not partake in the presentation under the current circumstances, considering various factors. This revelation has once again sparked debate on whether the ACC chairman must always be the one to present the Asia Cup trophy. The 2022 final serves as a reminder that, at least in recent editions, the trophy presentation was not exclusively under the jurisdiction of the ACC chief.