'ICC showed us mirror...': Kamran Akmal’s take on PCB officials’ absence from Champions Trophy final presentation ceremony

Former Pakistani cricket player Kamran Akmal expressed his displeasure at the absence of Pakistani representation at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final presentation event. To the astonishment of many onlookers, no representatives from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were on the platform during the prize ceremony, even though Pakistan was the host country.

To get clarification on this controversial matter, the PCB has responded by filing a protest with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Akmal recently expressed his opinions, claiming that Pakistan had received a stern message from the ICC. He said that the Pakistani cricket team's lackluster showing, in his opinion, did not warrant its exclusion from the event.

"The ICC showed us the mirror. The tournament's director (Sumair) was there. He was available, and why wasn't he in the ceremony? It is because we don't deserve to be there. We are not playing good cricket. Minnow teams have shown us the mirror. No one discussed how Pakistan hosted the tournament. If we play such cricket, we will be treated like this. If you play for yourself, there will be no respect,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel.

During the ceremony, Roger Binny, the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), along with BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, ICC Chairman Jay Shah, and New Zealand Cricket CEO Roger Twose, took to the stage to present awards to the finalists, India and New Zealand. Sumair Ahmed, the Chief Operating Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and tournament director of the Champions Trophy, was also present at the venue.

Despite his significant role in organizing the event, Sumair Ahmed was not invited to the post-match ceremony, which led to dissatisfaction within the Pakistan Board. Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar voiced his concerns about this issue in a video he posted on social media right after the final match.

Before the Champions Trophy began, the PCB had expressed their disappointment over India's choice not to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, citing the tense political relations between the two countries. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and both boards agreed on a hybrid model, which stated that teams would not compete in each other's countries for ICC tournaments until 2027.

As a result, India played all their matches in Dubai, which disrupted the travel plans of the teams leading up to the semi-finals. The Champions Trophy 2025 was significant as it marked Pakistan's first time hosting a tournament since the 1996 World Cup. Despite the PCB's efforts, the tournament was overshadowed by controversies that affected Pakistan's otherwise successful hosting of the event.

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