Karachi: 

A fresh controversy has erupted ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 after the Indian flag was spotted to be missing in a video of the National Stadium in Karachi going viral. The video gained traction from the audiences online and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) move was discussed The footage showed that there was the flag of seven participating teams but the Indian tricolour was missing from it. Due to the political tensions between the two countries and security concerns, while touring Pakistan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) opted for a hybrid model for the marquee tournament. The video shared on an ‘X’ account has triggered a debate over PCB’s move to not include India’s flag at the Champions Trophy venue. After the video went viral on the Internet, social media users speculated that it could be due to India not playing their matches in Pakistan. 

The National Stadium in Karachi will host three matches, four matches will be played in Lahore while three matches will be played in Rawalpindi.

Defending Champions Pakistan will host the event for the first time. The tournament will return to the international fold after a gap of seven years as the last edition was played in 2017. As a part of the hybrid model, Dubai will host all group matches of the Indian team. The Men in Blue will also play the matches of the knockout stage in Dubai.

The tournament will kick off on February 19 with Pakistan and New Zealand locking horns in the tournament opener. India’s much-anticipated fixture against Pakistan is scheduled for the weekend. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand are in Group A while Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa are in Group B.