‘Remains a loser’: Mohammad Yousuf delivers pointed message to India after Mohsin Naqvi trophy snub in Women’s Asia Cup originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
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His comment comes after India’s refusal to accept the trophy from Naqvi.
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India Women beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Sunday’s final in Dubai.
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Mohammad Yousuf delivers pointed message to India after Mohsin Naqvi trophy snub in Women’s Asia Cup
India’s women completed a dominant Asia Cup campaign on Sunday, but the celebrations in Dubai were overshadowed almost immediately by a now-familiar diplomatic standoff.
Having beaten Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side declined to accept the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, mirroring exactly what the men’s team did after winning the same tournament a year earlier.
The refusal has drawn plenty of reaction from within Pakistan cricket circles, and Mohammad Yousuf was among the most pointed. The former Pakistan batting great, who has spoken extensively in recent weeks about the state of his own country’s cricket, turned his attention to India’s conduct in the aftermath of the ceremony.
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Posting on X, Yousuf framed the trophy snub as a matter of national character rather than sporting protocol, tying the gesture to a broader argument about humility and victory.
MORE: Did Harmanpreet Kaur and India receive winner’s trophy from Mohsin Naqvi?
What Mohammad Yousuf said about India’s trophy refusal
Yousuf did not hold back in his assessment, suggesting that India’s win was diminished by the manner in which the team conducted itself at the presentation ceremony.
“When national pride turns into arrogance, victory brings no reward. A team may win, but a nation without humility remains a loser! No trophy, only heels on heads,” Yousuf wrote, tagging the post with #WellDone and #MohsinNaqvi.
The reference to Naqvi in the hashtag suggests Yousuf’s post was intended, at least in part, as a show of support for the ACC president, who has publicly maintained since last year’s men’s final that he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said India remain welcome to collect the trophy from the ACC’s Dubai office whenever they choose.
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Why the snub happened again despite a year to find a resolution
India’s stance dates back to September 2025, when the men’s team refused Naqvi’s gesture after beating Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, citing his role as Pakistan’s interior minister alongside his cricket roles.
That trophy has remained at the ACC’s headquarters in Dubai ever since, with talks between the BCCI and PCB, including ICC-facilitated discussions, failing to produce a handover.
With that dispute still unresolved a year later, there was little reason to expect the women’s team would act any differently once Naqvi turned up to present the trophy in person.
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BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later confirmed the decision was made in solidarity with the men’s stance, saying the board explored alternatives but ultimately had no regrets about how it played out.
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Why Yousuf’s framing overlooks the actual dispute
Reducing the standoff to a question of Indian arrogance skips over the specific objection India have raised consistently, which concerns Naqvi’s dual role as a serving government minister rather than any general reluctance to share a stage with Pakistani officials.
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Whether or not that objection is one people agree with, it is a stated political position rather than a simple national character flaw that Yousuf’s post implies. It is also worth noting that India walked away with the actual prize that matters on the field, a second Asia Cup title in as many years and a comfortable win in the final itself.
A trophy sitting in a cabinet in Dubai is an unresolved administrative embarrassment for the ACC as much as anything else, and framing it purely as an Indian failing ignores that Naqvi has had a full year to find a neutral way to hand it over and has instead chosen to keep insisting India come to him.
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