Kamran Akmal spoke on the recent furore regarding the lack of a representative from host country Pakistan at the prize distribution ceremony of the recently concluded Champions Trophy
Former wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal spoke on the recent issue of the lack of a representative from host country Pakistan at the prize distribution ceremony of the just-concluded Champions Trophy. As per him, Pakistan didn’t have a representative because it didn’t “deserve” to be there. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has protested to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the fact that there was no representative of the host country present during the prize ceremony when India won the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand on Sunday.
PCB Chief Executive and the director of the tournament, Sumair Ahmad Syed, attended the event in Dubai. As PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was not well and could not make it to the ceremony, Sumair represented the host country. Yet, he was nowhere to be found at the official ceremony.
Kamran criticized Pakistan’s representative for not attending the ceremony. He said that Pakistan did not deserve to have its representative present. He stressed that there was a necessity to upgrade the nation’s cricket in order to restore its lost respect.
“The ICC stood in front of us in the mirror. The director of the tournament (Sumair) was present. He was present, and why didn’t he attend the ceremony? It is because we don’t merit being there. We are not playing quality cricket. Minow teams stood in front of us in the mirror,” Kamran said on his YouTube channel.
“No one talked of how Pakistan had organized the event. If we have played such cricket, we will be treated like this. If you play for yourself, there will be no respect,” Kamran further said.
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As per latest reports, the PCB has also requested a formal explanation from the ICC on why the whole situation was justified.
The PCB never told the ICC that Sumair would replace Naqvi at the ceremony, ESPNcricinfo reported. The Pakistan board thinks, though, that the responsibility rested on the ICC to call them and ask about a substitute for Naqvi.
