The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 came to an end, but it seems the tears from Pakistan have not. It's not just because Team India won the trophy — it was also because, despite being the host nation, there was no representation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in Dubai during the prize distribution event.
The absence of a Pakistani representative even disappointed legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. After India overcame New Zealand in an exciting final, Akhtar said he could not understand why not even one delegate from the PCB was present to hand over the trophy to India.
Jay Shah, the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), gave the Champions Trophy to the victorious captain, Rohit Sharma. On the other hand, Roger Binny, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), presented the champions with the white blazers.?
Interestingly, former Australia captain Aaron Finch and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia were among the other dignitaries on stage, while Mohsin Naqvi, the head of the PCB, was not present at the presentation ceremony.?
Notably, on March 5, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla went to Lahore to watch South Africa and New Zealand play in the second semi-final.?
Taking to his YouTube and social media handles, the former Pakistani pacer said, "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 standing there. 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."
While it was a genuine feeling from the Pakistani great, Indian fans on X (formerly known as Twitter), who were in too good of a mood after the victory, did not seem to care as they shared memes under his post.?
One said, "Cry more and use Burnol."
Another said, "Looks like this is the last ICC event hosted in Pakistan."
One wrote, "Time to accept that PCB is a joke."
Another wrote, "Maybe they were too embarrassed to come."
Despite Pakistan cricket legend Shoaib Akhtar's criticism it was stated that the board did, in fact, send an official to the closing ceremony in Dubai — but he was noticeably sidelined by the ICC, sparking outrage within the PCB.?
According to a PTI report, PCB's Chief Executive Officer Sumair Ahmed, who also served as the tournament director, attended the final, standing in for PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. However, Sumair was not invited to the stage during the trophy presentation.Sources suggest the incident resulted from a misunderstanding on the ICC's part, possibly due to a lack of communication between Sumair and the ICC officials organizing the ceremony.?
Speaking on the Dressing Room show on YouTube, cricket icon Wasim Akram expressed surprise at Sumair's absence from the stage."As far as I know, Chairman Saab (Mohsin Naqvi) wasn't well, so Sumair Ahmad Syed (PCB COO) and Usman Wahla (Director of International for PCB) attended on PCB's behalf. But no one from Pakistan was on stage," Akram said.?
"We were the host, weren't we right? How come even the COO of PCB or whoever it may be who was representing Chairman Saab, why weren't they on stage? Were they not invited? I don't know what is the story. It definitely looked odd to me while sitting here. Pakistani, koi na koi stage par khada hona bahot jaruri tha. Chahe wo cup na de, chahe wo medal na de but somebody should've been there. (It was imperative that Pakistan should have had representation in any form.)," added Akram.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Rishabh Pant?
New Zealand Squad: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Nathan Smith, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy
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