Why Did India's Women Cricketers Refuse Their Trophy?

You win the biggest tournament of the year. The confetti's basically already falling in your head. And then, in the middle of that moment, you look at what's being handed to you and you say: not like this.

That's what India's women's cricket team did on September 14, in Dubai. They beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs to win their eighth Women's Asia Cup title, powered by Shafali Verma's 68 and Smriti Mandhana's 59. And then they didn't take the trophy. Not because they didn't want it. Because of who was holding it out.

What happened in Dubai, and why did they say no?

The Asia Cup trophy was set to be presented by Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the Asian Cricket Council, who is also Pakistan's interior minister and head of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Amid ongoing India-Pakistan political tensions, India's men's team had already declined to accept a trophy from him earlier in the year. When the women's team won, they made the same call. The ceremony was delayed more than 30 minutes. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia later explained the decision was tied to the strained relations between India and Pakistan since the April 2025 Pahalgam attack: "One of the main leaders who is working against the interests of our country. We can't receive the trophy from him." The team held their own medal presentation off to the side, with BCCI officials standing in, while the official ceremony wrapped up without them.

They still got their medals. They still lifted the title, their eighth. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur talked about the win itself with the kind of grounded pride you'd expect from someone who's been doing this a long time: "We set some really high standards for us, and we had to match them every day, and I'm pretty happy with the way we all came up together." But the trophy stayed on the table. That was the point. It's proof that a win doesn't have to cost you your line in the sand. Shafali Verma described how her approach to big moments has changed this year: "Earlier, I used to get really hyped about reaching the finals. But now, I keep things simple, keep going back to the basics, that I need to watch the ball and just react." That steadiness, staying simple, staying clear on what matters, is exactly what let the team hold a boundary in real time instead of getting swept up in the moment.

Why it matters for her

Most of us aren't refusing trophies on live television. But we've all had a version of this: the promotion, the acceptance, the good news that arrives wrapped in something we don't actually agree with. A job offer from a company whose values don't sit right. Praise from someone who's treated you badly. A "win" that still asks you to swallow something. Watching a team do this on the world stage, at the height of their joy, without making it a whole speech, is a useful reminder that you can hold two things at once: genuine happiness about what you earned, and a clear no to how it's being handed to you.

It also matters because this was a team decision, not one player going rogue. Fourteen women agreeing, together, on what they wouldn't accept. That's a different kind of strength than the individual grit we usually celebrate in sports. It's collective. Nobody had to be the lone voice in the room.

The same instinct shows up in what Gloria Steinem taught us about using your voice: sometimes the most powerful thing isn't a big dramatic statement, it's a quiet, consistent refusal to go along with something that doesn't sit right. And it's the same thread running through why Malala Yousafzai is investing in women's sports right now, the belief that women's athletics can be a place where dignity and performance aren't separate conversations. Even what Alex Eala said about patience at the US Open touches this same idea: staying grounded in who you are matters as much as the scoreboard.

One thing to try today

Next time something good comes with a catch attached, pause before you say yes to the whole package. You can take the win and still name the part you're not okay with, out loud, to one person you trust. You don't need a big gesture. You just need to notice the moment it's happening, the way this team clearly did.

Quote to sit with

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." — Audre Lorde

💌 Sarah