The International Cricket Council (ICC) is receiving criticism for the absence of representatives of the Pakistan Cricket Board at the closing ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The Indian Cricket Team won the ICC Champions Trophy after defeating New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai, UAE. However, being the host of the tournament, there was no representation of Pakistan at the closing ceremony.
The Indian team had refused to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, citing security concerns, following which their matches were shifted to UAE.
PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi was not present at the final match of the tournament. Instead, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Binny, presented jackets to the Indian players. Even Tournament Director Sumair Ahmed Syed was not on stage for the presentation ceremony, giving an impression of a complete takeover by India.
Read more: India win Champions Trophy, beating New Zealand by four wickets in final
Criticism drew in from the cricket fans and former players over the absence of PCB officials at the closing ceremony.
Former cricketer Wasim Akram raised the question in a show. Commenting on the show, he asked
“We [Pakistan] were the hosts, weren’t we? Then, the chief operating officer or whoever was representing the PCB chairman, why were they absent from the stage during the ceremony? Were they not invited? it looked odd to me sitting here as well,” said PCB.
“A Pakistani should have been on the stage, even if they didn’t hand over the cup or medals, in my opinion,” he added.
According to reports, Mohsin Naqvi did not attend the final as he was ill. However, PCB COO Sumair Ahmed Syed and Usman Wahla, Directorof International Cricket, were present in the stadium.
Shoaib Akhtar too raised the question on the absence of the PCB from the ceremony. “This is a weird thing that I saw [in the final], that no PCB representative was there [at the presentation ceremony],” said Shoaib Akhtar.
“Pakistan were the hosts, and there was no official representative there, this is beyond my understanding. Why didn’t anyone come to represent and give the trophy?”
“This was the world stage, and you should have been there. this [tournament] was hosted by u,s yet there was nobody there. Think about it, been very discouraging to see that,” he said.
Mohsin Naqvi and other PCB officials have not responded to the situation. Naqvi, however, in a tweet on Monday, felicitated Pakistan on hosting a successful ICC tournament. “I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated PCB team, the vigilant law enforcement agencies, the supportive provincial governments, the esteemed ICC officials, and all the phenomenal participating cricket teams that traveled to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025,” he stated.