The organisers should have put the Indian Tricolour amongst all other team’s flags at the National Stadium in Karachi ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, opined BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla. With just two days to go before the mega event in Pakistan, a controversy erupted after a viral video on social media showcased flags of all the participating nations but India, on one of the roofs at the National Stadium.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the BCCI have been at odds over the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 venue, after the latter refused to travel across the border due to security concerns. However, PCB were forced to adopt the hybrid model where the Indian team will be playing all their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai while Pakistan remain the hosts of the tournament.
It is to be noted that during any multi-nation tournament hosted by the International Cricket Council (ICC), it is mandatory to hoist the flags of all the participating nations. Notably, the promotional video of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, featuring Pakistan in all its glory, showed snapshots of all the participating eight teams in the tournament.
In fact, Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill were spotted on the billboards of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on the streets of Pakistan.
While many believed that it might be PCB’s move against the BCCI for not sending the Indian team to Pakistan, Rajeev Shukla emphasized that the Indian flag deserves a place amongst all the competing nations.
“First, it should be confirmed that whether the Indian flag was there or not. If it wasn’t there, then it should have been put. All the participant nation’s flags should have been there,” Rajeev Shukla told Livemint on the sidelines of the Restaurant Premier League in Delhi on Tuesday.
What did PCB say on Indian flag controversy?
Earlier on the day, the PCB pushed the ball on ICC’s court on the issue, stating that the direction has come directly from the global headquarters. “The ICC has advised that only four flags will be hoisted on Champions Trophy 2025 match days – ICC (Event Authority), PCB (Event Host) and the two sides competing on that day. Simple,” a PCB official told Hindustan Times.
That means, no Indian flag will be seen in any of the three venues – Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches.
India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 schedule
Put in Group A, Rohit Sharma’s Men in Blue will open their campaign against Bangladesh (February 20) before facing arch-rivals Pakistan three day’s later in the El Clasico of cricket. India round off their group assignments against New Zealand on March 2.
