Women In Blue Win Asia Cup, Refuse To Receive Trophy From A Pakistani ACC Chief

The women in blue stood out at the Women’s Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament in Dubai. The team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, brooked no opposition from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan after disposing off minnows Thailand and Hong Kong. It proved its supremacy in the Asian region. The women in blue have lost only three of 18 to Pakistan, three of 25 to Bangladesh, and five of 32 to Sri Lanka in Twenty20 Internationals. India has truly roughed up the main Asian opponents, winning all 64 matches together and losing a mere 11. Clearly, the team benefited largely from Shefali Varma’s run-getting ability in her typical belligerent style in Dubai. The next big test for Harmanpreet’s team (don’t know why Diana Edulji is shouting from the rooftop for Harmanpreet to be replaced by Smriti Mandhana in all three formats) will be the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The “Punjabi Kudi” has set her sights on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, and she is keen to grab a medal in the USA. All said and done, the Asia Cup has to be labelled a non-competitive event, with Pakistan skittled out for 55, Bangladesh restricted to 109, and Sri Lanka shot out for 111. While India steamrolled five teams, the inevitability of the team refusing to step onto the stage to receive the prize from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Mohsin Naqvi – Pakistan’s Interior Minister – happened, with the women in blue doing what Suryakumar Yadav’s team did after winning the men’s Asia Cup post the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. Naqvi’s ACC office in Dubai has both cups. Hopefully, the BCCI will be able to get them once Naqvi leaves his post as ACC chief.