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ICC Breaks Silence On PCB Officials' Absence During Champions Trophy Medal Ceremony

Abhinav Tyagi

ICC explains - (Source:@AP)ICC explains - (Source:@AP)

On Sunday, March 9, the ninth edition of the 2025 Champions Trophy came to an end after India beat New Zealand in the finals to lift their 3rd title. The recently concluded tournament will go down as most controversial ICC event as it also ended on a sour note.

Before the start of the Champions Trophy 2025, there was a tussle between BCCI and PCB over the hosting rights. It took both boards a long time to reach to a consensus and agree on a hybrid model. However, the tournament concluded with controversy as a row erupted after the absence of a PCB member during a post-match presentation.

ICC Explains Reason Behind Absence Of PCB Officials From Ceremony

Notably, there were BCCI officials and ICC members present on the stage, but a member from the PCB was present on the podium despite Pakistan being the host nation. It led to a major controversy as several cricket pundits slammed the ICC officials.

In the latest events, there are reports that the PCB is furious with the absence of its members from the podium and is all set to lodge an official complaint to the ICC over the matter. Meanwhile, according to GeoSuper one of the ICC members based on anonymity, explained the reason behind the absence of PCB members.

It stated that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi could not travel to Dubai due to prior commitments. Further, it remarked that only the top head, CEOs of a board is allowed on the podium. 

"The ICC only invites the head of the host board—such as the president, vice president, chairman, or CEO—to participate in the awards ceremony. Other board officials, even if present at the venue, are not part of the stage proceedings,” the spokesperson explained.

However, the statement failed to answer why they did not invite PCB CEO Sameer Ahmed Syed, who was present in the stadium but was still not invited to the stage by the ICC.