The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has now asked for the ICC’s explanation regarding three separate incidents that occurred during the recently concluded Champions Trophy.
The PCB is particularly upset that no Pakistani representative was present at the award ceremony for the Champions Trophy final. The board has sought an explanation from the ICC over this unexpected incident.
India won the Champions Trophy by defeating New Zealand by 4 wickets in Sunday’s final in Dubai. However, no representative from the host country, Pakistan, was present at the awards ceremony. Tournament director and PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, Sumair Ahmed, was present as a representative of Pakistan, but he was not invited onto the stage.
The award ceremony featured four individuals: ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI President Roger Binny, Secretary Devajit Saikia, and New Zealand Cricket Director Roger Tush. They presented medals to the players, with Indian captain Rohit Sharma receiving the trophy from Jay Shah.
It’s not customary for representatives of both teams to be on stage during the award ceremony unless the host country is involved.
Cricket website ESPN Cricinfo reported that the PCB was surprised by the presence of Saikia, as Binny, the BCCI representative, was on stage. However, the most significant frustration for the PCB was the absence of a Pakistani representative.
PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, was supposed to be at the ceremony, but the PCB stated that he was unwell and couldn’t travel to Dubai. They had hoped that Sumair Ahmed would be there as Pakistan’s representative.
The PCB mentioned that they didn’t inform the ICC of this expectation, but they believe it was the ICC’s responsibility to arrange a substitute for Naqvi. They were particularly upset that the ICC did not initiate any discussions about having a Pakistani representative on stage during the final.
A PCB official confirmed that they have yet to receive any explanation from the ICC.
Due to the Indian government’s refusal to allow their cricket team to travel to Pakistan, the Champions Trophy was played in a hybrid model, with India playing all their matches in Dubai.
This is the third time the PCB has sought an explanation from the ICC over issues related to the Champions Trophy.
The first incident involved the omission of Pakistan’s name from the official broadcast logo during the India-Bangladesh match. The second occurred when India’s national anthem was mistakenly played during the England-Australia match at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. In both cases, the ICC claimed the incidents were accidental.
