The trophy ceremony no one can quite forget is back on the horizon. This time, it is the Indian women’s team walking towards the spotlight.
According to a Geo Super report, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is set to attend the Women’s Asia Cup final on September 13 as the chief guest for the closing ceremony. His presence alone turns what should be a routine presentation into a political and emotional flashpoint.
Because everyone remembers last year.
Old wounds, new stage
In 2023, India beat Pakistan in the Men’s Asia Cup final and waited, as did the rest of the cricketing world, for the trophy lift. It never came in the way anyone expected.
The post-match presentation stalled for more than an hour. The standoff centred on one question: who would hand over the silverware? Naqvi, then as now, was at the heart of it. India ultimately refused to receive the trophy from him. Suryakumar Yadav’s side celebrated on the podium, but the glittering prize stayed away from Indian hands.
The image was surreal. Champions without a trophy.
That trophy still sits in the ACC office in Dubai, unclaimed, a symbol of a political freeze that spilled straight onto the presentation stage.
Now the script threatens to repeat itself, only with Harmanpreet Kaur’s team in the lead role.
India in charge on the field
On the pitch, India have left little room for debate. Harmanpreet’s side have marched into the semi-finals of the eight-team Women’s Asia Cup without dropping a game.
They opened their campaign by brushing aside Thailand, then swept past Hong Kong, and saved their sharpest statement for Pakistan. In Dubai, India bundled out the Fatima Sana-led side for just 55 and chased it down with seven wickets to spare. It was ruthless, clinical, and loud in its message.
Smriti Mandhana has added a historic layer to this run. During the tournament, she became the leading run-scorer in women’s internationals, overtaking Mithali Raj, one of the defining figures of the sport. That record alone would have been enough to dominate headlines in a normal week.
This is not a normal week.
The ceremony question
With Naqvi expected to be in the middle for the closing ceremony, the final could end with a familiar impasse. As chief guest, he is in prime position to hand over the trophy to the winners. If that team is India — and on current form they are clear favourites — the moment of decision will arrive again in front of millions.
Will Harmanpreet’s India accept the trophy from the PCB chairman? Or will they follow the path taken by Suryakumar’s men last year and leave the silverware untouched?
For now, the BCCI have stayed silent. No statements, no hints, no public stance on how the women’s team will respond if they win the title with Naqvi on the presentation dais. The quiet only adds to the tension building around a match that was already loaded with rivalry and history.
The cricket itself promises a spectacle. India are in form, confident, and stacked with players hitting their peak at the right time. The opposition will know they are stepping into a storm.
But once the last ball is bowled and the champions are crowned, the real drama may begin again at the podium. Will this Indian team walk up, smile, and take the trophy from the man at the centre of last year’s standoff? Or will another Asia Cup title end up locked away in an office in Dubai, waiting for a handshake that never comes?
