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India defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the tournament decider to secure a third Champions Trophy title, becoming the first nation to achieve the feat. The final, along with each of India’s other four matches, were played in the United Arab Emirates because the Indian government didn’t grant permission for the national cricket team to travel to Pakistan.
However, despite being the official host nation, Pakistan didn’t have any cricket officials present during the post-match presentation ceremony. Instead, on the podium was BCCI president Roger Binny, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, New Zealand Cricket director Roger Twose and ICC chair Jay Shah, who previously served as the BCCI secretary. Former Australian cricket captain Aaron Finch, having won the 2021 T20 World Cup
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“India have won the Champions Trophy, but I noticed something rather strange,” former Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar posted to Twitter.
“There wasn’t a single representative from the PCB on the podium, even though Pakistan was the host of the tournament. I can’t understand why no one was there to represent the country. It’s beyond me to even think about. There should have been someone on this world stage. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any PCB members out there.”
PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi was meant to be part of the presentation ceremony, but didn’t travel to Dubai for the final, reportedly due to feeling unwell. Speaking on the Dressing Room show, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram questioned why tournament director Sumair Ahmad Syed, who is also the PCB’s Chief Operating Officer, wasn’t invited on stage in Naqvi’s absence.
“We were the …
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