England and Australia are playing their Champions Trophy match at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Meanwhile, an unexpected incident occurred during the national anthems. As both teams stood on the field, India’s national anthem mistakenly played for two seconds which drew cheers from the Lahore crowd.
The ceremony began with England’s anthem, but when it was Australia’s turn, the DJ seemingly made an error and played India’s anthem instead. Realizing the mistake, officials quickly stopped the anthem and then played Australia’s correctly.
This minor slip-up was enough to turn the Pakistan Cricket Board into a target of mockery. Social media was flooded with ridicule, with one Twitter user remarking, “Pakistan is so obsessed with India that they just can’t get them out of their minds.”
Pakistan by mistakenly played Indian National Anthem during England Vs Australia #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/31D7hA6i6n
— hrishikesh (@hrishidev22) February 22, 2025
What makes the incident even more bizarre is that India isn’t even playing any matches in Pakistan, raising the question of how the organizers made such a blunder. Since India refused to travel to Pakistan, the ICC implemented a hybrid model for the Champions Trophy.
Under this arrangement, all three of India’s group matches and one semi-final will be held in Dubai. If India reaches the final, Pakistan will lose the hosting rights for the title match as well, with the final also being played in Dubai.
India’s anthem playing at Lahore’s stadium isn’t the first talking point of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The tournament has been surrounded by multiple issues even before its start, including disputes over venues, concerns about Pakistan’s stadiums not being ready on time, and more.
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Just a few days ago, another controversy emerged when reports claimed that India’s flag was missing from Karachi Stadium. However, on match day, India’s flag was present along with those of all other participating nations.
