Pakistan Cricket Board has lodged a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over ignoring its representation in the prize distribution ceremony after the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday.
Senior officials said PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has conveyed to the ICC that he would not be attending the final as he was busy in the country's joint parliament session on Monday. Naqvi is also the interior minister of the country.
In Naqvi's place, PCB chief operating officer Sumair Ahmed attended the final but as per ICC protocols, he was not eligible to attend the ceremony, a stance contested by the PCB.
The PCB has formally lodged a protest with the ICC for not including PCB COO and CT25 tournament director Sumair Ahmed Syed in yesterday's presentation ceremony.
ICC protocols say the head of the ICC distributes the prizes and trophies while the host country is represented at the podium. New Zealand Cricket Director Roger Twose, BCCI President Roger Binny, and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia were at the podium.
PCB's stance is that when Saikia and Twose can be invited to the podium -- not heads of the Boards -- then Ahmed should also have been invited to the podium.
Pakistan was awarded the trophy in November 2021 but were forced to host it in a hybrid model after BCCI refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan as it did not get approval from the government because of the freeze on bilateral series between the two countries.
As per arrangements, India played all its matches in Dubai. Officials in the know said that in its letter, the PCB pointed out various mistakes committed by the ICC during the event.
ICC had made a number of errors during the event, including changing CT25 logo on broadcast feed during India's match against Bangladesh and then playing the India anthem in the Australia versus England match in Lahore.
Another ICC event, another controversy. Pakistan erased from a broadcast graphic, anthem mix-up at a marquee match, and a host board ignored at its own event. @ICC, when does the accountability start.
As per the agreement reached with BCCI and ICC, Pakistan will also host the qualifying rounds of the ICC women's qualifiers for this year's Women's ODI World Cup to be held in India.
Pakistan has also been awarded the 2028 Women's T20 World Cup but no men's event is given to Pakistan in the cycle that finishes in 2031.
