- By Namrata Vijay
- Mon, 10 Mar 2025 01:32 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs NZ ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Ex-Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhter showed his disappointment after none of the Pakistan representatives attended the presentation ceremony of the ongoing mega-event in Dubai. Akhter reckoned that anyone from the PCB should have been there to give the trophy to the Men in Blue, who defeated New Zealand during the nail-biting summit clash.
Shoaib took to his official X account and shared a video, where he admitted that he was heartbroken to see that none of the Pakistan representatives were there for the summit clash, even though they were the hosts of this tournament.
ICC chairman Jay Shah gave the Champions Trophy title to Jay Shah and then BCCI president Roger Binny handed over the white blazer to the team. The other dignitaries who attended the presentation ceremony were Aaron Finch and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.
"India has won the ICC Champions Trophy. There was one odd thing: no one from the Pakistan Cricket Board during the presentation ceremony. Pakistan is the host of the Champions Trophy, but no representative of Pakistan was standing. No one was there to present the trophy. It is beyond me. Think about it. The tournament was hosted by us, but there was nobody there. Feeling very down to see that," Akhter was quoted as saying on his official X account.
Watch the video here:
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What surprised everyone was even Mohsin Naqvi, who is the chief of PCB, didn't attend the presentation ceremony. It should be noted here that Rajeev Shukla, also went to Pakistan to watch the second semifinal between South Africa and New Zealand, which was held in Lahore last week.
Pakistan couldn't host the summit clash of the mega-event because the Men in Blue reached the final. As per the hybrid model, India didn't play any match in Pakistan or Lahore where the final was supposed to be held had India not qualified.
The Mohammed Rizwan-led side played just one match in their backyard even though an ICC tournament was being held after 29 years at their home. They lost to New Zealand during their tournament opener and then lost to arch-rivals India in Dubai. Their last group stage match was abandoned due to incessant rain in Rawalpindi.
At the same time, the Rohit Sharma-led side stayed unbeaten throughout this mega-event and won the title comprehensively. Skipper Rohit Sharma led the team from the front as he scored a match-winning knock of 76 runs while chasing a target of 252 runs. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav had put up a dominating performance and made sure the Kiwi batters couldn't score big.
