PCB accuses ICC for 'India's national anthem' fiasco during AUS vs ENG, sends letter saying 'you need to offer...'

Amid a thrilling start to the Champions Trophy, the tournament's opening week witnessed quite a few botch-ups, which left the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) at loggerheads. A few days after PCB complained to the ICC over a broadcasting gaffe during India's opening game against Bangladesh in Dubai, the former was left red-faced when India's national anthem was played for a fraction of a second at the start of the Australia-England Champions Trophy at Lahore. PCB sent a letter to ICC over 'India's national anthem' fiasco

As the two teams lined up at the Gaddafi Stadium ahead of the start of their respective Champions Trophy opener, instead of playing the England national anthem, "God Save the King/Queen," the Indian anthem was played for a few seconds. The incident left spectators surprised, and PCB vexed.

According to a report in PTI, a source close to the ICC revealed that PCB sent a letter to the apex body demanding a clear explanation of the incident. "The PCB has made it clear that the ICC needs to offer some explanation as their people are responsible for the (national anthem) playlist of teams in the Champions Trophy. "Since India is not playing in Pakistan, it is hard to understand how their anthem was played by mistake from the playlist," the source said.

Notably, BCCI refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy after being denied clearance by the Indian government. Hence, after months of back and forth with PCB, Dubai was picked as the venue for all of India's matches.

ICC accepts mistake on broadcast blunder

Earlier, PCB had written to the ICC about its name logo not being displayed on television screens when India played Bangladesh in Dubai on Friday. According to a report in Cricbuzz, footage from all matches in the Champions Trophy so far, the tournament logo on the top left corner at the time of broadcast had a three-line branding bearing 'Pakistan' as the host nation, but it was missing during the India match.

ICC initially responded that it was a bit too long and featured a smaller logo, but later accepted the error and agreed to use the original graphic in all games.

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