Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi appears to have developed an unusual connection with the Asia Cup, and that is not because he is a cricketer, but because his presence at the trophy presentation keeps becoming the story after the final.
Naqvi, Pakistan’s Interior Minister as well as the chairman of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Pakistan Cricket Board, was at the centre of controversy again after India’s women’s team won the 2026 Asia Cup in Dubai. India defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs to claim a record eighth women’s Asia Cup title, but the celebrations were overshadowed when the Indian team did not accept the trophy from Naqvi.
It was almost a repeat of the men’s Asia Cup final in 2025. India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets, but the presentation ceremony descended into confusion after India refused to receive the winners’ trophy from Naqvi. The ceremony was delayed for more than an hour and eventually ended without India lifting the trophy. Captain Suryakumar Yadav later said the team felt it had been denied the trophy it had earned. Mohsin Naqvi, like a true Pakistani, then ran away with the trophy that he hadn’t earned and had no right to.
Naqvi is not simply a cricket administrator, he is a senior Pakistani government minister. Following the Pahalgam terror attack carried out by Pakistan backed terrorists, India has cut down its ties with the fountainhead of terrorism. Bilateral cricket between the two countries is anyway not happening due to Pakistan harbouring terrorists who keep on trying to attack India.
The 2026 women’s final has therefore created a striking déjà vu. Once again, the Indian champions celebrated their victory, but the traditional moment of receiving the Asia Cup from the ACC chief was missing. Reports say the Indian side had communicated its position beforehand.
What should have been a routine sporting ritual has now become drama, Naqvi keeps showing up to present the Asia Cup trophy, while the eventual champions keep making it clear that they do not want to receive the trophy from him.
