Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram expressed concerns over the absence of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials during the presentation ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai on Sunday.
Despite Pakistan being the official host of the tournament, there was no PCB representative on stage when India claimed their third Champions Trophy title by defeating New Zealand.
While speaking on the topic during a post-match programme, Wasim expressed surprise over the absence of the officials.
The pacer said that, to the best of his knowledge, the PCB chairman could not attend the presentation due to illness and was represented by PCB COO Sumair Ahmed and Director International Cricket Usman Wahla instead.
“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 definitely looked odd to me sitting here as well,” he said.
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Wasim Akram further reiterated that there should have been some representation from Pakistan.
“A Pakistani should have been on the stage, even if they didn’t hand over the cup or medals, in my opinion,” he concluded.
Additionally, the International Cricket Council (ICC) clarified the reason for the absence of PCB officials from the Champions Trophy 2025 final ceremony.
An ICC spokesperson explained that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who was the official representative of the host board, had been invited to attend the ceremony but was unable to attend.
“Mr. Naqvi was unavailable and did not travel to Dubai for the final,” the spokesperson stated.
The apex cricketing body further emphasized its long-standing protocol regarding such events while responding to the criticism about the lack of Pakistani representation on stage.
The spokesperson outlined that, according to ICC procedures, only the head of the host board—whether it be the president, vice president, chairman, or CEO—is invited to be part of the awards ceremony.
Read: Mohsin Naqvi hails collective efforts behind successful hosting of Champions Trophy