Champions Trophy 2025 Controversy: PCB Ignored by ICC on the Grand Finale Match Night
Controversy erupted on Sunday, March 9, soon after India won and defeated New Zealand by four wickets to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title. At the Dubai International Stadium., the ICC failed to invite any Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official on stage to present the medals or trophy at the closing ceremony, considering they were the host nation of the prestigious tournament.
ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI president Roger Binny, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, Director Of New Zealand Cricket Roger Twose were part of the presentation party but no member from the PCB was on stage to grace the memorable occasion.
As per news reports, PCB’s chief executive officer Sumair Ahmed, who was also the director of the tournament was present at the venue but not invited for the presentation ceremony.
“PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi didn’t go to Dubai because of prior commitments as federal minister for interior but the PCB CEO was sent to represent Pakistan at the final and closing presentation,” the PTI news publication had quoted.
For some reason or misunderstanding, the PCB official was not called on the podium. Perhaps the CEO might not have been able to communicate properly to the ICC officials responsible for organizing the final ceremony and was left out due to some apparent communication gap.
Pakistan as hosts of the Champions Trophy had zero representation on the stage, which clearly did not go down well with the citizens and experts from Pakistan as they questioned the fairness of ICC as a committee and the obvious bias towards India.
The PCB is expected to take up the matter with the ICC as to why its CEO was not invited on stage for the closing ceremony. Former legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar also questioned the absence of PCB officials from the post-match presentation ceremony after the final of the tournament and expressed his displeasure through a video circulated on X.
After India swayed the decision in their favor in an exciting final, Akhtar said a delegate from the Pakistan Cricket Board ought to have been there to present the trophy to India. Despite Pakistan being the tournament’s official host, it was disappointing to see no Pakistani representative at the momentous event in Dubai, as shared in his now viral video.
For the unversed, India’s BCCI had categorically refused to play any of their matches in Pakistan citing security concerns. The PCB agreed to a hybrid model, allowing India to play their games in Dubai as a common venue for all matches involving them.
The finale match on March 9 was also hosted in Dubai itself, completely stealing the limelight from Pakistan as the hosting country, considering they had received this opportunity after a long gap of 29 years.
The Indian contingent and BCCI officials were also criticized by some of the players from other teams stating the unfair advantage Indian players had by playing all their games at a single venue and being familiar with the conditions, which led them to go undefeated throughout the tournament campaign.
The Sultan of Swing, Wasim Akram however dismissed the concerns and went on to heap praises on the Rohit Sharma led squad, stating the Indian side would have won irrespective of their venue location purely because of their unmatched quality and dominance in global tournaments.
My Perspective:
The Pakistan Board is a weaker board as compared to BCCI and their revenue earnings are visibly lesser too. Being a feeble board and the one to generate marginal revenue can’t dictate terms on how an international body like ICC will operate.
The controversial statements will soon subside, as the focus to celebrate the hard work and toil of the men in blue will take the centre stage. The Indian players now look forward to the upcoming IPL season as they are all set to join their respective teams in the approaching days.
