No Indian Flag at Karachi Stadium: PCB Sparks Controversy Before Champions Trophy 2025

Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, a video went viral on social media showing the Indian flag missing from the National Stadium in Karachi. While flags of other countries were visible, India’s flag was not, which led to a lot of debate and questions about why it was missing.

The absence of the Indian flag in Karachi is because the Indian team played all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai. When India chose not to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, they agreed to a hybrid format. So, India to play all their group-stage games in Dubai, as well as the semi-finals and final, should they qualify for those stages.

No Indian flag in Karachi: As only the Indian team faced security issues in Pakistan and refused to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan, the PCB removed the Indian flag from the Karachi stadium while keeping the flags of the other guest playing nations.

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) had to come to a mutual agreement. The agreement also means that Pakistan will not play its matches in future ICC events held in India. Due to India’s decision not to participate in matches in Pakistan, the tournament was altered to a hybrid format.

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