Amol Muzumdar didn’t reveal much of anything, and that itself was the story. Asked directly whether India might collect the trophy at a later date, the coach said there was no news yet and he couldn’t answer. He backed the board’s boycott of the ceremony without adding a single new detail. Everything queued up behind him from BCCI officials went further, admitting they wanted the deputy ACC chairman to hand the trophy over instead. Both trophies, men’s and women’s, remain locked away in Dubai as the rivalry drags on.
Muzumdar Insists the Team Has Moved On
Muzumdar stood by the board’s stance without hesitation in his press conference after the final. He said the decision belonged to the BCCI and that the squad stood behind it fully, framing the win itself as the only thing that mattered once the big board on the field had already named India champions.
When a reporter pushed on whether the trophy could still arrive later, he gave a flat non-answer, saying there was no news on that front. He then pivoted to praise for his players and support staff, closing the topic before it could open further. He offered nothing on timelines, dates, or conditions, treating the entire subject as closed the moment he mentioned it. The tournament, as far as he was concerned, was finished business.
Before the presentation, he had been seen gathering his squad in a huddle rather than heading toward the stage. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajiv Shukla handled a smaller gesture themselves, presenting pacer Nandani Sharma her fielder of the match medal away from the ceremony entirely.
Asia Cup 2026 India Trophy Row
Saikia was unambiguous about where the decision came from. He said it was entirely the board’s call, made after internal discussion, and consistent with a position the BCCI had held for some time. Nothing about it was improvised on the day.
The specific objection was procedural. The board had already told organizers before the final that it would not accept the trophy under the planned presentation arrangement, and when that request went unheeded, BCCI followed through on its warning rather than back down in the moment.
Saikia framed the walkout as an institutional decision made with the country’s interests and its players’ standing in mind, not a personal snub aimed at any individual. He was careful to separate the players’ achievement, which he called complete and deserved, from the argument happening around the ceremony itself.
BCCI’s Objection to the Ceremony Format
The specific complaint centered on who would physically hand over the trophy. Saikia suggested an alternative that BCCI had floated privately beforehand, letting the ACC’s deputy chairman present it instead, a workaround designed specifically to sidestep the controversy everyone could already see coming.
That proposal went nowhere before the final started, which left BCCI with the option it eventually took. Saikia said the board informed organizers of its position in advance and only acted on it once its preferred solution was ignored.
He also tied the decision to solidarity with India’s men’s team, whose own Asia Cup trophy from the previous year still hasn’t reached the country. He said the two situations shared a root cause and that the federation hoped both prizes would eventually make it home together.
Men’s Silverware Still Stuck in Dubai
India’s men beat Pakistan by five wickets in Dubai last September to win that edition, but the trophy from that final never left the venue. It sits at the ACC’s office inside the ICC Academy complex, unclaimed for almost a full year now.
The holdup traces back to the presentation itself, when ACC president Mohsin Naqvi insisted on handing the trophy over personally instead of letting Emirates Cricket Board vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni do it as originally planned. India refused to accept it under those terms, and the ceremony was delayed by more than an hour before both sides gave up and moved on without a resolution.
An informal meeting between Saikia and Naqvi during an ICC gathering in Dubai back in November briefly suggested progress, but nothing concrete followed. As of this week, neither trophy has moved, and the Asia Cup 2026 India trophy row shows no sign of a timeline for resolution.