The absence of any Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official at the final presentation ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, drew another needless controversy on Sunday in Dubai.
India being the financial centre of world cricket ensured that India played all their matches in Dubai after the BCCI’s refusal to send its team across the border. As a result, the final took place in Dubai with Indian triumphant by four wickets against New Zealand in the final.
Though Pakistan was the designated host of the Champions Trophy, it was not lost on anyone that despite the norm being that in any ICC tournament final, the representatives of the hosting board are a part of the dignitaries called on the podium to give away the awards, no PCB official was called on stage.
Instead, the Champions Trophy final presentation ceremony had ICC chairman Jay Shah, BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Devajit Saikia, and New Zealand Cricket director Roger Twose give away the medals, jackets and the trophy to the players.
PTI reports that though Sumair Ahmad Syed, PCB chief operating officer and Champions Trophy 2025 tournament director, was present at the stadium as the representative from the host board, he was not invited to the ceremony.
In a related development, the PCB is set to register its protest with the ICC for ignoring Ahmed Syed during the event’s closing ceremony.
PTI quotees a source in the PCB as having said on Monday that chairman Mohsin Naqvi was not satisfied with the explanation given by the ICC for not having Ahmed on stage at the presentation ceremony on Sunday.
“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,” said source told the newswire.
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 larger optics of such actions certainly do no favours for the game on the world stage. Particularly seeing as T20 cricket will be introduced at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with both men’s and women’s teams competing.
