The tournament lasting 20 days with 15 matches came to an end with India hoisting the trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). However, things were marred with controversy when Akhtar, a famous Pakistani cricketer, took to social media and expressed his grievances that there was no member from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which was the hosting board, present during the presentation ceremony.
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“While I indeed saw Indian winning the Champions Trophy, I saw something which didn’t seem right. There was no member of PCB on the podium and this is shocking considering Pakistan was the host of the tournament. The way I see it, there should have been someone on that stage to represent the country. Unfortunately, I saw no one from the PCB there. It astonishes me to think of the reason why,” Akhtar said in a video that he posted on social networking sites. For more latest Sports update; Click Here
The heart of the story, however, is that no elective member of the PCB was in attendance at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday when they were supposed to be hosting the tournament. Mohsin Naqvi, the Chairman of the PCB, also did not show up to the Dubai closing ceremony. Instead, the PCB’s representative was Sumair Ahmed, who works as the tournament director for the Pakistan portion of the Champions Trophy.
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However, it has been understood that protocols precluded having staff on the podium where only elected members or board directors were present which included Jay Shah, ICC Chair, Roger Binny, Devajit Saikia, the president and secretary of the BCCI, and Roger Twose New Zealand Cricket director along with some other directors.
There was another tournament director, Andre Russell, who had the responsibility of the Dubai leg of the Champions Trophy. He too was not invited to the podium reserved for office bearers and directors.