The mystery behind Pakistan's absence from the ICC Champions Trophy closing ceremony has now been revealed. In the final, India triumphed over New Zealand by four wickets, claiming their third Champions Trophy title. However, during the closing ceremony, no Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) representatives were present to distribute the medals and jackets to the players, despite Pakistan being the host nation.

This sparked significant backlash, with former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar raising concerns about the absence of PCB officials at the event. The medals and jackets were handed out by BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Devajit Saikia, while ICC President Jay Shah presented the trophy to India's captain, Rohit Sharma.

An ICC spokesperson clarified the situation to India Today, explaining that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi did not travel to Dubai due to prior commitments. The spokesperson mentioned that only PCB office bearers are typically called to attend such events, and no office bearers from the PCB were present in Dubai.

According to a recent report from PTI, PCB’s CEO, Sumair Ahmed, who also served as the tournament director, was indeed in Dubai for the closing ceremony but was not invited. The report suggests that a communication error between the CEO and the ICC organizers may have caused the confusion. Sources also revealed that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi couldn’t attend because of his duties as a federal minister for interior, but the PCB CEO was sent as the representative.

The PCB is expected to raise the issue with the ICC, questioning why their CEO was not invited to the ceremony.