ICC Rubbishes PCB's Tournament Director Claim, Set To Reject Complain On Champions Trophy Ceremony Row: Report

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India secured a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, claiming their third Champions Trophy title.

With PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi engaged in political responsibilities, the board claimed that they designated Sumair Ahmed, its chief operating officer and tournament director, as its representative for the Champions Trophy final ceremony.

However, Ahmed was not invited onto the stage for the presentation ceremony, prompting PCB to lodge a formal complaint over what they termed an "unacceptable" oversight. Despite this, the ICC has dismissed their concerns and are unlikely to meet the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) demand for an official explanation regarding the absence of their representative from the stage.

"Sumair Ahmed is an employee of the PCB and not an office-bearer. Also please check when has a tournament director been on stage for the presentation. We can give an example. ICC's new head of operations and communications Gaurav Saxena was once Tournament Director for Asia Cup in Dubai. Was he on stage for final presentation?" a senior ICC official told PTI. "If the PCB mandarins look up, even ICC CEO Geoff Allardice wasn't present on stage. The reason is protocol," the official added.

The PCB, however, remains dissatisfied with the explanation provided so far. "The reasons being given for not having our COO and tournament director on stage for the final presentation make no sense to us. We are waiting for a formal clarification/apology," a PCB official stated.

During the ceremony, BCCI president Roger Binny presented the white jackets to the winning Indian team and awarded medals to all the match officials, while ICC chairman Jay Shah handed the trophy to captain Rohit Sharma and distributed medals to the Men in Blue. Also present on stage were BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and New Zealand Cricket's CEO Roger Twose.