Published: Feb 17, 2025, 05:11 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 17, 2025, 05:12 PM (IST)
A controversy was triggered after a video went viral on social media which showed the flags of all the participating nations in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The flags were hoisted at the National Stadium in Karachi.
The controversy was triggered when the Indian flag was nowhere to be found in the video or in the stadium. Due to the controversy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) came under a lot of criticism for their refusal to raise India’s flag in their stadium.
However, the PCB has now downplayed the controversy, stating that they only hoisted the flags of the nations that will be playing their share of matches for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
“As you know, India is not coming to Pakistan to play its matches during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025; the National Stadium in Karachi, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore have hoisted flags of countries that are going to play at the said venues,” a PCB source told IANS.
“The Indian team is going to play its matches in Dubai. Secondly, the Bangladesh team has not yet arrived in Pakistan and will be playing its first match against India in Dubai. Therefore, their flags have not been hoisted and the other nations, who have arrived here and will be playing in Pakistan… their flags are there at the stadium,” the source added.
The source further said that the PCB will not be giving out an official statement on the matter as it is solely related to a video which circulated on social media.
“I don’t think PCB needs to even give an official statement on this. It’s clear that the controversy is made without facts and aims to damage host Pakistan’s image with fake news,” the source said.
“Different stadiums in Pakistan are going to host different teams during the Champions Trophy matches. And they’re hoisting their flags to welcome them”, the source added.
