The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed why the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials were absent from the Dubai Champions Trophy 2025 finals trophy ceremony. A spokesperson from the ICC said that the Chairman of the Management Committee and the selective representative of the host board of the Champions Trophy 2025 were invited to the final ceremony, but they didn’t attend. The Spokesperson also confirmed, “Mr Naqvi was unavailable and didn’t travel to Dubai for the final.”

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While answering criticism over the absence of PCB representation on the stage of the final ceremony of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the ICC highlighted the protocols for awards ceremonies. The Spokesperson explained that “The ICC only sends invitations to the head of the host board such as the chairman, CEO, president or vice president to participate in the stage ceremony of the finals of ICC events. Other officials from the board in any case of their attendance were not part of the stage ceremony in any ICC event.”

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The ICC highlighted that this is the protocol of the ICC and it is continuously followed across all its tournaments and events and is not unique to Champions Trophy. The absence of a PCB official on the stage of the final awards ceremony was solely because of the non-participation of the Board’s selective representative. The final of the Champions Trophy 2025 occurred in Dubai because India’s match location was changed from Pakistan to Dubai due to security concerns in Pakistan, the Indian government refused to send its National Cricket team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. The final of the tournament occurred in Dubai which raised questions about the presence of the host nation during the award ceremony. Except for India matches, All the other matches of this tournament were played in Pakistan.