Champions Trophy 2025: India’s victory against New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy Final was damaged by controversy as representatives from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did not attend the trophy demonstration. Rohit Sharma and his team held up the trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, but the absence of PCB officials sparked debates throughout the Cricket Brotherhood.
Pakistan, official host, missing at the final ceremony
Although Pakistan is the official host of the tournament, PCB representatives, including Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, participated in the final speech. This unprecedented situation has attracted attention because the practice is that the host participates in the prize allocation along with International Cricket Commission (ICC) officials and representatives of the competition team.
India’s refusal to play football in Pakistan leads to a hybrid mode
The 2025 Championship Trophy is the first ICC event held in Pakistan 29 years later. However, India refused to travel to Pakistan due to concerns about security, resulting in a mixed mode of the tournament. All India’s matches, including the semifinals against Australia and the finals, were played in Dubai. If India does not reach the final, the match will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Cricket Brotherhood Issues PCB’s Decision
Fans and former cricketers were quick to point out the absence of PCB, with former Pakistani Pacer Shoaib Akhtar expressing his objection on social media. Unusual circumstances have increased growing tensions between the cricket committees in India and Pakistan.
BCCI officials present ceremony
Despite the absence of the PCB, ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI President Roger Binny, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) Director Roger Twose participated in the trophy. It is worth noting that BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla had visited Lahore to compete in the semi-finals between New Zealand and South Africa, but there was no sign of PCB officials helping each other in Dubai finals.
India wins the championship trophy with exciting victory
In the controversy, India won the championship trophy 12 years later and defeated New Zealand with four wickets. Rohit Sharma became the second Indian captain to win multiple ICC titles after Ms. Dhoni, further cementing his legacy in Indian cricket.
In such a major event, the absence of PCB officials has raised questions about the future of cricket relations between India and Pakistan. With the 2025 Championship trophy summarization, the focus shifts to whether tensions between the two boards will improve before the next major ICC match.
