Coming under fire for the lack of its representative on the podium during the prize distribution ceremony of the Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has formally registered a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The PCB was upset over being left out of Sunday's ceremony in Dubai.
A strongly worded letter has been written to the ICC by senior PCB officials demanding to know why its representative at the stadium had not been invited to the podium, the report published by Telecom Asia Sport on Monday said.
Pakistan hosted the Champions Trophy officially, with the event running on a hybrid model. Based on political restrictions, Rohit Sharma's Indian team played their matches in Dubai rather than going to Pakistan.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had previously told the ICC that he would not be present at the final, as he was attending the country's joint parliament session on Monday. In his place, PCB's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sumair Ahmed represented the board at the match. However, ICC regulations did not allow him to take part in the prize distribution, a move that the PCB has objected to.
"The PCB has formally complained to the ICC for keeping PCB COO and CT25 tournament director Sumair Ahmed Syed out of the presentation ceremony," board officials said in an interview with Telecom Asia Sport on Monday.
According to ICC guidelines, the head of the governing body distributes trophies and awards, and those from the hosting country are among the podium occupants. ICC Chair Jay Shah made the presentation during the ceremony when he handed the trophy to Indian captain Rohit Sharma, alongside New Zealand Cricket (NZC) Director Roger Twose, BCCI President Roger Binny, and BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia.
The PCB believes that if Saikia and Twose had been permitted to come onto the podium even though they were not heads of their boards, Ahmed would have had to be accommodated as well.
Sources privy to the development disclosed that the PCB letter also pointed towards several mistakes on the part of the ICC during the tournament.
"ICC made a number of errors during the tournament, including altering the CT25 logo on the broadcast feed during India's match against Bangladesh and incorrectly playing India's national anthem prior to the Australia vs. England match in Lahore," a PCB official said.
"Yet another ICC event, yet another controversy. Pakistan's name was deleted from a broadcast graphic, there was an anthem mix-up in a critical match, and the host board was excluded at its own tournament. Where is the accountability?" a source familiar with PCB management asked.
The PCB has come under a lot of criticism for this incident, with past cricketers and commentators viewing it as a disrespectful act towards Pakistan in a tournament they were hosting.
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