A new controversy has come to light post India's triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, also drawing reactions from former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar. The controversy is about the absence of any representative from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) during the Champions Trophy presentation ceremony in Dubai, despite the country being the official hosts of the tournament.
PCB's chief executive officer Sumair Ahmed, who is also the director of the tournament, was present at the venue but was not invited for the ceremony, a report in PTI cited a source. "PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi didn't go to Dubai because of prior commitments as federal minister for interior but the PCB CEO was sent to represent Pakistan at the final and closing presentation," the source said.
The source added that due to some miscommunication, the PCB official was not invited on the podium for the ceremony, which saw new ICC chairman Jay Shah, BCCI president Roger Binny, and secretary Devajit Saikia hand over medals, trophies, and jackets to the players.
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The report further mentioned that PCB is expected to take up the matter with the ICC, seeking explanation as to why its CEO was not invited on stage for the closing ceremony.
Meanwhile, the snub saw the Rawalpindi Express get furious as he took to social media questioning the omission from the post-match presentation ceremony.
"India have won the Champions Trophy but I noticed there was no representative from the PCB after the final. Pakistan was hosting the Champions Trophy. I do not understand it," Akhtar said in a video posted on social 'X'. "Why was nobody (from PCB) there to present the trophy? It is beyond me. It is something to think about. This is the world stage, you should have been here. Feeling very down to see that," the ex-cricketer added.
BCCI president Binny presented the white jackets to India and the medals to match officials, while ICC chairman Shah handed the trophy to Rohit Sharma and gave the medals to the Indian players.
Ahead of the tournament, the two boards - BCCI and PCB - were at loggerheads after the former refused to send Rohit Sharma and Co. to play across the border citing security concern. After much tussle the PCB eventually agreed to a hybrid model, as per which all of India's matches were scheduled in Dubai. This then led to another controversy as former England players and some participating in the tournament accused India of having a "venue advantage".
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PCB to register protest with ICC
PCB is set to register its protest with the ICC for ignoring its CEO and Champions Trophy tournament director. A source in the PCB said that Naqvi was not satisfied with the explanation given by the ICC for not having Ahmed on stage at the presentation ceremony.
"The ICC, apparently, has said it had prepared for Mohsin Naqvi to be on stage so when he didn't show up for the final, they changed their plan," the source was quoted as saying by PTI.
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The PCB has rejected this explanation and noted that the ICC had made a number of errors during the tournament regarding Pakistan's status as host nation. This included changing the CT2025 logo in the live broadcasts feed of the India versus Bangladesh game and then playing the Indian national anthem in the Australia versus England match in Lahore.
The ICC claimed due to a mix up with the playlist the Indian national anthem was played for a few seconds before the error was corrected.
-with PTI inputs
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