Former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar expressed their disappointment due to the absence of Pakistani representation in the presentation ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai.
On Sunday, Rohit Sharma-led team India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final to lift their first 50-over ICC title in 12 years at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
There was no one from PCB or Pakistan’s cricket official presence in any form for the Champions Trophy final despite Pakistan being the host.
“As far as I know, Chairman Saab (PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi) wasn’t well but the people that came from there (PCB) were Sumair Ahmad Syed (Chief Operating Officer of PCB) and Usman Wahla (Director of International for PCB) but no one was there on the stage,” said a fairly disappointed Akram on the Dressing Room show after the event.
“We were the host, weren’t we right? How come even the COO of PCB or whoever it may be who was representing Chairman Saab, why weren’t they on stage? Were they not invited? I don’t know what is the story. It definitely looked odd to me while sitting here. Pakistani, koi na koi stage par khada hona bahot jaruri tha. Chahe wo cup na de, chahe wo medal na de but somebody should’ve been there. (It was imperative that Pakistan should have had representation in any form.),” added Akram.
This is literally beyond my understanding.
How can this be done???#championstrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/CPIUgevFj9— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) March 9, 2025
Akhtar, meanwhile took to X, formerly Twitter to show his dismay. He said, “India have won the ICC Champions Trophy. There was one odd thing: no one from the Pakistan Cricket Board during the presentation ceremony. Pakistan were the host of the Champions Trophy, but there was no representative of Pakistan who was standing. No one was there to present the trophy. It is beyond me. Think about it. The tournament was hosted by us, but there was nobody there. Feeling very down to see that.”
Jay Shah, the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), gave the Champions Trophy to the victorious captain, Rohit. Roger Binny, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief, presented the champions’ white blazers. Devajit Saikia, BCCI secretary, was among the other dignitaries on stage.
India did not travel to the host country Pakistan, citing security reasons and played all its group games, the semi-final and the final, in Dubai.
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