In a remarkable display of skill, the Indian women’s cricket team has achieved significant success over the past 10 days. They clinched their eighth Asia Cup title in Dubai, showcasing their dominance in the tournament. Following this victory, they successfully defended their status as gold medallists at the Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. This back-to-back success highlights the team’s strong performance against their Asian rivals.
ACC Chairman’s Presence Overshadows Final Wicket Celebration
The match concluded with the final wicket, but the team’s pursuit of the trophy remains uncertain. Broadcasters capitalized on the excitement, showcasing visuals of the VIP stand during the crucial final overs. Notably, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s Interior Minister and the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board, became a focal point for the cameras. His presence overshadowed the jubilation following the last wicket, as he was seen conversing with BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia. However, the events that unfolded thereafter did not provide significant updates to the match narrative.
Back in 2025, months after the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam , which was followed by a brief military skirmish between India and Pakistan, the Indian men played in the Asia Cup. A year later, in June 2026 during the T20 World Cup , Harmanpreet Kaur and Co., this time on English soil, refused to shake hands with the Fatima Sana-led team. Naqvi found himself waiting yet again, in September 2026, in the same Dubai stadium, to not present the winner’s trophy to the Indian side. The first time they faced each other was in 2005, and they have only ever played each other in international tournaments. In the less than 30 matches these two teams have played, the Indian side has maintained comfortable dominance. By comparison, Indian and Australian women have faced off over a 100 times, including in Test matches.
The Asia Cup final saw the team defeat defending champion Sri Lanka to secure a commanding win. Deepti Sharma concluded the competition by taking her 14th wicket — the most by any bowler in the tournament. Smriti Mandhana surpassed India’s Mithali Raj to become the leading run-scorer in international cricket, while also sprinting ahead of Australia’s Meg Lanning to gather the most number of centuries under her bat. These achievements didn’t garner as much media attention as the post-match non-presentation did. As the team’s audience demanded a boycott of the fixture against Pakistan, the skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s answer came in the form of a refusal to shake hands. It was a paltry substitute against the calls to sacrifice the match. Days later, the spectators cheered as the team lifted an imaginary trophy. Even as they were receiving their gold medals for the Asian Games being hosted in Japan, the audience found itself obsessed with a particular scenario where Mohsin Naqvi could end up being part of the ceremony. He was not. The matches between the men of India and Pakistan have been held against the heavy despair of a partitioned subcontinent; they have been held joyously in the old cities of Delhi and Lahore, and they have been suspended altogether when the countries have been at war. These matches have been the mould in which the identity of the Indian men’s team, the temperament of its audience, and the business model of its Board have taken shape. For the men, this fixture carries a storied history that the new players inherit when they join the team. Indian women, on the other hand, have not played a single bilateral match against the Pakistani side. As this Indian women’s team continues to add new metal to its trophy cabinet, it also enters a new kind of public sphere in which its cricket is viewed alongside its politics.
The players had seemingly “humiliated” Naqvi by making him wait and refusing to accept the winner’s trophy from him. Since the final match had been against Pakistan, and the defeat had been extended to its highest cricketing official, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed the victory “Operation Sindoor on the games field”. “What the men had started, the women have continued,” the audience rejoiced.
If earlier the BCCI and its political masters were too busy to notice this team, now they are too eager to make use of another match where the cameras can capture the Indian players not shaking hands.