Why was Mohsin Naqvi there to present India the Asia Cup trophy again?

We have seen this before.

India win a T20 Asia Cup in Dubai, Mohsin Naqvi is on the podium for the trophy presentation, and the Indian team refuse to accept it from him.

Less than a year after it happened with the men's team, almost exactly the same situation unfolded again on Sunday.

This time it was the Indian women's team.

Harmanpreet Kaur's side defeated Sri Lanka by 72 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to win the 2026 Women's T20 Asia Cup and claim a record extending eighth Women's Asia Cup title.

But when it came time to receive the trophy, India refused to accept it from Naqvi.

So the obvious question is: why was Naqvi there again?

The simple answer is that Naqvi is president of the Asian Cricket Council, the organisation responsible for the tournament.

Reports before the final had confirmed that Naqvi was expected to attend the closing ceremony in his official ACC capacity, potentially setting up another awkward trophy presentation if India won.

And that is exactly what happened.

Naqvi was on the podium and Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu received the runners up cheque from him. But India did not come out to receive the winners' trophy.

At the 2025 Men's T20 Asia Cup final, Suryakumar Yadav's India beat Pakistan by five wickets at the same Dubai International Cricket Stadium but refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi.

The decision came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. Naqvi is not only the ACC president but also Pakistan's Interior Minister and PCB chairman. The BCCI said at the time that it would not accept the trophy from someone who was also a senior political leader in Pakistan.

So another standoff was hardly unexpected.

In fact, the possibility had been discussed before this year's final, and the Indian Express reported that the BCCI had communicated its position regarding Naqvi to the ACC before Sunday's presentation.

India women's coach Amol Mazumdar later confirmed that the team stood by the BCCI's decision not to receive the trophy from Naqvi.

So Naqvi's presence was understandable because of his position as ACC president.

But after what happened at the Men's T20 Asia Cup last year, everyone knew another trophy controversy was possible if India became champions again.

And that is precisely what happened.

Different Indian team. Same venue. Same T20 Asia Cup trophy controversy.

Once again, more than cricket, sadly the controversy will be spoken more.