The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) for an explanation after the Indian national anthem was mistakenly played for a brief moment at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
The incident occurred just before the Australia-England match, where the UK’s national anthem was played as scheduled. However, instead of transitioning to Australia’s anthem, a snippet of India’s anthem was heard before being abruptly stopped and replaced.
Read More: UAE Embassy Announces New Visa Rules for Pakistani Applicants
A PCB official, speaking to ESPNcricinfo, expressed frustration over the error, holding the ICC responsible. Since the tournament is under ICC’s jurisdiction, the global body was responsible for curating and managing the anthem playlist.
The PCB also questioned why India’s anthem was in the playlist at all, given that India is not scheduled to play any matches in Pakistan.
This marks the second instance within days where the PCB has sought clarification from the ICC over incidents it believes undermine Pakistan’s role as the official host of the Champions Trophy.
Earlier, during India’s match against Bangladesh in Dubai, Pakistan’s name was missing from the tournament logo in the official broadcast.
While the ICC attributed that issue to a technical glitch, the explanation did not satisfy the PCB. The governing body later assured that such an omission would not happen again, including during the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash in Dubai.
Despite the anthem controversy, the Australia-England match was a spectacle in itself, drawing the largest crowd of the tournament so far. Australia successfully chased a record 351-run target, defeating England by five wickets with 15 balls to spare.