We stand by BCCI’s decision not to receive Asia Cup trophy: Mazumdar

India women’s head coach Amol Mazumdar said the team fully supports the BCCI’s decision not to receive the Women’s Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, insisting that the tournament is “officially over” for them.

Speaking after India defeated Sri Lanka in the final, Mazumdar said the team was proud to be crowned champions and had already shifted its focus to the Asian Games.

“That stand has been taken by the BCCI and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions, and that’s good enough. It was on the big board that India are the champions of Asia Cup 2026,” Mazumdar said.

“This tournament is officially over for us. We are happy that we have turned out to be champions. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games.”

Asked when India would receive the trophy and whether the current situation was likely to change, Mazumdar said there had been no update.

“No news as yet, so I cannot answer that,” he said.

Mazumdar was also asked whether the developments surrounding India-Pakistan cricket and trophy presentations could affect the spirit of sportsmanship.

“The stand has been taken by the BCCI and we are united and standing by it. Absolutely,” he said.

“For us, this tournament is officially over. The fact that we are champions, we are really glad and I am really proud of every single person in this unit, including the support staff and the players, needless to say.

“We are looking forward to the Asian Games now. This is officially over.”

Mazumdar also played down concerns over India’s middle order, insisting that the team had produced strong batting performances throughout the tournament.

“I think there is no such thing as a middle-order collapse. We have had some good scores, given the conditions here. I don’t think there was anything regarding the middle order. We don’t have any concerns regarding that,” he said.

“We have had some amazing opening partnerships. Shafali and Smriti have been batting really well. That’s the nature of the game, T20 cricket. You cannot have everyone shooting and scoring runs. There will be moments in a T20 match and we are well aware of that.”

Mazumdar pointed to India’s overall scoring record as evidence that the batting unit had performed well.

“The opening partnership has been really good and we finished off really well. We have got scores. We scored 198 in the first game and 160 and beyond in almost every game,” he said.