The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lodged a formal complaint with the ICC on Tuesday after a bit of drama unfolded when Sumair Ahmed, the PCB's COO and the tournament director for the Champions Trophy, was overlooked during the trophy presentation at the final on Sunday. It seems the ICC isn't planning to provide any official response to the PCB about this situation.

India clinched the Champions Trophy for the third time in history by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the final held in Dubai on Sunday. Since PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi wasn't at the match, Sumair represented the board. Unfortunately, the ICC didn't acknowledge his presence and left him out of the trophy presentation.

BCCI president Roger Binny handed out the white jackets to the Indian players and medals to the match officials, while ICC chairman Jay Shah presented the trophy to captain Rohit Sharma and awarded the winners their medals. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and New Zealand Cricket's CEO Roger Twose were also on stage. It's worth noting that Saikia serves as the BCCI Director on the ICC board, and Binny is the Alternate Director.

A PCB official expressed their frustration to PTI on Tuesday, stating, "We have filed a formal complaint with the ICC as what happened is unacceptable to us."

The ICC has replied to the PCB

Even though the PCB raised concerns, the report included ICC sources stating that Pakistan won't receive any official explanation. The sources pointed out that the tournament rules left the ICC no option but to exclude Sumair from the ceremony.

"If the PCB officials take a look, even ICC CEO Geoff Allardice wasn't on stage. It's all about protocol," an ICC source mentioned. "Sumair Ahmed is just a PCB employee, not a top official. Plus, when has a tournament director ever been on stage for a presentation?"

The source continued, "For instance, Gaurav Saxena, the ICC's new head of operations and communications, was the Tournament Director for the Asia Cup in Dubai. Did he appear on stage for the final presentation?"

However, the PCB found this explanation "illogical," insisting on a "full public clarification" regarding the "unfair treatment" from the ICC.

"The reasons given for not allowing our COO and tournament director on stage for the final presentation don't make sense to us. We're awaiting a formal clarification or apology," a PCB official stated. "We're shocked by this blatant disregard for Pakistan's position as the host nation."

"The argument that ICC only invites CEOs, chairmen, vice-chairmen, or secretaries for the ceremony is unreasonable. We demand a full public clarification and a guarantee that such biased treatment won't happen again, or we'll escalate this issue to the Board of Governors," he added.

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