The official host of the Champions Trophy was Pakistan, but it was India that claimed the title. Yesterday, in Dubai, Rohit Sharma’s team defeated New Zealand by 4 wickets in the final. However, no representative from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was present at the award ceremony.
This absence left former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar shocked. Despite being the host country, Shoaib couldn’t understand why no PCB member attended the final. He described it as unfortunate and expressed his disbelief over the situation.
India played all of their matches in Dubai for the Champions Trophy, as politically hostile neighbor Pakistan was not an option for them. Therefore, the tournament was held in a hybrid format. Since India reached the final, the title match also took place in Dubai.
Shoaib, surprised by the absence of any PCB representatives at the award ceremony, shared his thoughts on Facebook: “India won the ICC Champions Trophy, but I noticed something strange. No member of the Pakistan Cricket Board was present there. Pakistan is the host of the Champions Trophy, but I didn’t see anyone from the PCB.”
Shoaib continued, “I don’t understand this. Why didn’t they come to represent or hand over the trophy? It’s just beyond my comprehension. This is a global stage, and they should have been there. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any PCB member there. We were the hosts, but none of our people were there.”
Later, an explanation was provided by the Indian news agency PTI. According to their sources, PCB CEO, Soumair Ahmed, was present at the event but was not invited to the award ceremony.
The source also mentioned that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi did not attend Dubai due to prior commitments as a minister in the Ministry of Interior. Therefore, the PCB had sent the CEO as their representative, but for some reason or misunderstanding, he was not called to the stage.
Despite criticizing the PCB, Shoaib praised India’s victory: “The best team, India, won the Champions Trophy. I must say that they were one of the best teams in the tournament. In my opinion, India has been the best team to emerge in ICC tournaments over the past decade. They won last year, and they won again this time. India played brilliantly in the Champions Trophy. Varun was fantastic, and Virat (Kohli) made an excellent comeback. Everyone else played well too. Congratulations to them. It was well-deserved.”
