Reports: PCB unlikely to get ICC’s clarification over Champions Trophy closing ceremony snub

Regarding the lack of a PCB representative at the Champions Trophy closing ceremony in Dubai on Sunday, March 9, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is unlikely to receive a formal response from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Sumair Ahmed, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer and the event’s Tournament Director, was not invited to the presentation ceremony’s stage, which sparked the issue.

On Tuesday, the PCB announced that they had formally complained to the global regulatory organisation. According to ICC sources, the PCB will not be given an official explanation regardless of the protest.

Even ICC CEO Geoff Allardice was absent from the stage, if the PCB Mandarins are to be believed. “Procedure is the reason,” an ICC insider told NDTV.

The insider went on to say that Ahmed had no right to be on stage because he was a PCB employee and not an office bearer.

Additionally, could you please verify if a tournament director has ever participated in a final presentation? We can provide an illustration. Gaurav Saxena, the new Head of Operations and Communications at ICC, was previously the Asia Cup Tournament Director in Dubai. Did he attend the last presentation on stage? The ICC source was added.

At the ceremony, ICC Chairman Jay Shah gave the trophy to captain Rohit Sharma and distributed medals to the winners, while BCCI President Roger Binny gave the Indian players their white jackets and the match officials their medals. There were also New Zealand Cricket CEO Roger Twose and BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia. Most notably, Binny is the Alternate Director and Saikia is the BCCI Director on the ICC board.

The way their staff were treated on the night of the final, meanwhile, was unacceptable to the PCB. The explanations were deemed “illogical” by them.

“We don’t understand the justifications offered for keeping our tournament director and COO off the stage. This flagrant disrespect for Pakistan’s responsibility as the host country horrifies us. Protocol-citing explanations are nonsensical. We call for a public explanation and guarantee that such discriminatory treatment won’t occur again. We will take this issue to the Board of Governors if it is not addressed,” the PCB official stated.