Champions Trophy - PCB asks ICC for clarification over India anthem being played before Australia-England

Champions Trophy – PCB asks ICC for clarification over India anthem being played before Australia-England

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The PCB contacted the ICC for clarification after the Indian national anthem was mistakenly played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium before the Australia-England match. During the anthem sequence, instead of Australia’s anthem, India’s was briefly played before being corrected. The PCB expressed dissatisfaction, attributing the error to the ICC, which managed the anthem playlist. They also questioned why India’s anthem was included since India isn’t participating in Pakistan. This incident follows another where Pakistan’s name was omitted from a broadcast logo during a match, prompting further inquiries from the PCB regarding its hosting status.

The PCB has contacted the ICC for clarification after the Indian national anthem was mistakenly played for a brief moment at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Prior to the match between Australia and England, the UK national anthem was played without issues. However, instead of following it with the beginning of the Australian national anthem, a recording of the Indian national anthem unexpectedly played before it was quickly halted and switched.

Sources from ESPNcricinfo indicate that the PCB is displeased with the mistake, attributing the blame to the ICC. A PCB official mentioned to ESPNcricinfo that, as this is an ICC tournament, the anthem playlist was curated and managed by the ICC, which is responsible for the anthem performances before the matches. Furthermore, the PCB raised concerns about the inclusion of the Indian anthem in the playlist, given that India is not playing any matches in Pakistan.

This marks the second occasion in as many days that the PCB has sought clarification from the ICC following incidents it believes have undermined Pakistan’s status as the official hosts of the Champions Trophy. During the second game of the tournament in Dubai, where India faced Bangladesh, Pakistan’s name was absent from the logo on the official broadcast.

This was a deviation from the broadcast graphics used for other matches thus far, including the tournament opener between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi, where both the event name and ‘Pakistan’ were displayed on screen.

The ICC attributed this incident to a technical issue, an explanation that failed to satisfy the PCB. The ICC assured that such occurrences would not take place again, regardless of the location of the games. This means that the broadcast for Sunday’s game between India and Pakistan in Dubai—considered the most high-profile match of the tournament—will feature Pakistan’s name on the official on-screen logo.

The encounter between Australia and England attracted the largest crowd of the tournament thus far and proved to be the most thrilling, as Australia successfully chased down a record total of 351 to defeat England by five wickets with 15 balls remaining.

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