The cricket community in Pakistan was left perplexed when no Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official was seen at the presentation ceremony following the ICC Champions Trophy final between India and Australia. ICC chairman Jay Shah was seen awarding the trophy to India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, and distributing medals to the players. However, despite Pakistan being the host nation for the tournament, no PCB officials participated in the stage proceedings.
Since the ceremony, there has been considerable public anger in Pakistan regarding these events. Pakistani cricket icon Wasim Akram expressed his bewilderment at the absence of PCB officials from the ceremony.
During a live broadcast of the “Dressing Room” show after the final in Dubai, Akram pointed out that PCB COO Sumair Ahmed Syed was present at the venue, representing chairman Mohsin Naqvi, but was not visible at any point during the ceremony.
Akram mentioned, “As far as I know, Chairman Saab (PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi) was unwell, but Sumair Ahmad Syed (Chief Operating Officer of PCB) and Usman Wahla (Director of International for PCB) were present from the PCB. Yet, none of them were on stage.”
The incident has since escalated into a major controversy, with many questions directed at the International Cricket Council (ICC) concerning the matter.
Akram further added, “We were the hosts, weren’t we? How is it that even the COO of PCB, or whoever was representing Chairman Saab, was not on stage? Were they not invited? I am unsure of the details. It definitely seemed strange to me. It was crucial for a Pakistani representative to be present on stage, regardless of whether they were presenting the cup or medals.”
