Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally revealed the reason why there was no representative from the host country at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 presentation ceremony. PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmad has blamed ‘mismanagement’ by the ICC, saying he was the representative of the Pakistan board but wasn’t called on stage to present the awards.
“It was a result of mismanagement on part of the ICC and everyone knows who’s involved in it. We did not take the matter in a positive way. We had asked for an explanation from the ICC but the response received wasn’t satisfactory so we’ve sent another letter seeking explanation,” Pakistan based Dawn quoted Ahmed as saying.
“It was a result of mismanagement on part of the ICC and everyone knows who’s involved in it. We did not take the matter in a positive way.” Ahmed added
What is the controversy?
ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI President Roger Binny, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia and New Zealand Cricket CEO Roger Twose were all present at the Champions Trophy 2025 presentation ceremony. However, there was no representation from the PCB, the host nation for the tournament.
The Champions Trophy was played in a hybrid format with India’s matches being played in Dubai. However, Pakistan retained the hosting rights and revenue from the matches.
“India has won the ICC Champions Trophy. There was one odd thing: no one from the Pakistan Cricket Board during the presentation ceremony. Pakistan is the host of the Champions Trophy, but there was no representative of Pakistan who was standing. No one was there to present the trophy. It is beyond me. Think about it. The tournament was hosted by us, but there was nobody there. Feeling very down to see that,” former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar commented on the absence of PCB officials at the Champions Trophy presentation ceremony.
