After India’s victory in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final, there has been conjecture regarding the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to not send delegates to the reward ceremony.
Concerns have been expressed by former Pakistani cricket players Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram, who wonder why, despite Pakistan hosting the competition, no PCB official appeared on stage.
With a decisive victory in the final, India, captained by Rohit Sharma, won their first ICC ODI championship in twelve years. However, when Akhtar brought out the lack of PCB officials at the award ceremony, the post-match conversation took a different tone.
“The Champions Trophy has been won by India. However, I noticed an oddity: there was not a single member of the Pakistan Cricket Board in attendance. The Champion’s Trophy is being held in Pakistan. “I don’t see the reasoning,” Akhtar remarked.
Akram also expressed similar concerns, stating that while PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was reportedly unwell, other officials, including Sumair Ahmad and Usman Wahla, were present at the venue but did not take part in the ceremony.
“The question now is that we were the hosts, weren’t we? How come even the CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board or whoever was representing the chairman was not on the stage? Was he not invited? I don’t know what the story is, but it definitely looked odd,” Akram said on Sports Central’s ‘Dressing Room’ show.
While there has been no official statement from the PCB regarding the matter, the speculation has sparked debate over the absence of a host nation’s representation at an ICC event’s final ceremony
