The Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief operating officer has held the International Cricket Council responsible for the mismanagement at the final presentation ceremony of the Champions Trophy in Dubai. Despite the presence of PCB CEO Sumair Ahmed at the venue, no Pakistan representative was invited to the podium during the closing ceremony. Addressing a function in Lahore, Sumair attributed the oversight to the ICC’s mishandling of the event.
“It was a result of mismanagement on part of the ICC and everyone knows who’s involved in it. We did not take the matter in a positive way,” he stated. Sumair had traveled to Dubai for the final on the instructions of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, but his presence was overlooked in the official proceedings.
He also confirmed that the ICC had not given a satisfactory response to PCB’s demand for an explanation regarding the incident. “We had asked for an explanation from the ICC but the response received wasn’t satisfactory so we’ve sent another letter seeking explanation,” he said. Notably, while BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, New Zealand Cricket’s CEO Roger Twose, BCCI president Roger Binny, and ICC chairman Jay Shah were present on stage, no representative from the host nation was included in the ceremony.
During his address, Sumair further revealed another issue that arose during the tournament, confirming that one of the roofs of the newly upgraded Gaddafi Stadium had leaked during the Champions Trophy, adding to the concerns surrounding the event’s organization.
