India lifted the trophy as the 20-day, 15-match Champions Trophy came to an end at Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). However, Pakistan left a negative impression by expressing dissatisfaction about the lack of a representative from the tournament’s hosts, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), at the award ceremony.
“India have won the Champions Trophy, but I noticed something rather strange. There wasn’t a single representative from the PCB on the podium, even though Pakistan was the host of the tournament. I can’t understand why no one was there to represent the country. It’s beyond me to even think about. There should have been someone on this world stage. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any PCB members out there,” Shoaib Akhtar said in a video posted on social media.
Despite being the tournament’s hosts, the PCB did not have an elected member present at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB, did not attend the closing ceremony in Dubai. Rather, the PCB dispatched their delegate, Sumair Ahmed, who is the tournament director for the Champions Trophy leg in Pakistan.
However, it is known that procedures prohibited having staff members on the podium when only the elected board members or directors were present, including Roger Binny and Devajit Saikia, the president and secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jay Shah, the chair of the ICC, and Roger Twose, the director of New Zealand Cricket.
The Champions Trophy leg in Dubai was actually overseen by Andre Russell, another event director. Additionally, he was not called to the podium, which was reserved for the directors and office-bearers.
