No Indian flag in Gaddafi Stadium; fans calls it PCB’s reply to BCCI’s refusal to play Champions Trophy in Pakistan

Lahore: The Champions Trophy is all set to return after a gap of eight years with Pakistan having won the last edition in 2017. Incidentally, the defending champions are the host nation, and they are ready to welcome seven other sides for the eight-team ICC tournament, which will begin on Wednesday. Ahead of the event, the flags of seven teams, including that of Pakistan, was seen at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, but the Indian flag was missing.

During an event at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday, fans noticed that the India tri-colour was missing at the venue, while the flags of the all the rest of the seven participating teams of the Champions Trophy were present. The video of it instantly went viral on social media.

Fans speculated that it was Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) response to Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to not set the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy after they did not get clearance for their government. Upon agreeing with the ICC after months of back and forth between the two boards, which went to the extent of PCB threatening to withdraw from the tournament, India decided to play their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai as part of a hybrid model. This implies that the venue for knockout stage matches and the final will only be confirmed if India make the distance.

The ICC tournament is all set to kick off on Wednesday, with the host nation taking on New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. India will open their campaign on Thursday against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium, before the proceedings head to the weekend for the mouthwatering clash between the two arch-rivals.