The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has formally protested to the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) over the exclusion of its consultant from the Champions Trophy prize distribution ceremony, held at Dubai Worldwide Stadium on March 9.
PCB Chief Govt Sumair Ahmad Syed, who was additionally serving because the Match Director, was completely missed throughout the ceremony.
In line with the official protocol, the prize distribution stage is reserved for the ICC Chairman, heads of the boards of the 2 finalist groups, and the host nation’s board chairman.
Since PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi was unable to attend because of sickness, Syed was the official consultant of the host nation.
He had beforehand congratulated ICC Chairman Jay Shah forward of the ceremony. Nevertheless, he was ignored completely, with the BCCI official being allowed to take his place.
This incident sparked extra controversy because the UAE, which hosted 5 of the event’s matches, was additionally not represented on the stage.
The ICC spokesperson justified the exclusion, stating that the host board head was invited to the ceremony however didn’t attend.
In line with their argument, solely the top of the host board — such because the president, vp, chairman, or CEO — is permitted on stage. Different officers, no matter their presence, are excluded from the prize distribution proceedings.
Nevertheless, the PCB has rejected this rationalization, mentioning that ICC CEO Geoff Allardice, who held the host tag, was seen distributing prizes earlier within the occasion. This, the PCB argues, proves that Syed’s exclusion was deliberate and unjustified.
The PCB has additionally raised issues about a number of different cases throughout the Champions Trophy that appear to undermine Pakistan’s internet hosting rights.
These embrace claims of India receiving preferential therapy, corresponding to enjoying all their matches on the identical venue and with pitches tailor-made to their benefit — privileges they’d not get pleasure from at house.
The PCB has formally escalated the problem, calling for a full investigation into the breach of protocol.
This has led many to query the ICC’s neutrality and governance, with suspicions that the Champions Trophy could not have been performed pretty.