Lahore, Feb 22: In a major blunder ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy match between Australia and England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, the Indian national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was played instead of ‘Advance Australia Fair’ (Australia’s national anthem).

As has been the case in ICC events, national anthems of both teams are played before the commencement of every match. After England’s national anthem, ‘God Save The King’ was played, it was supposed to be followed by ‘Advance Australia Fair’.

But to everyone’s surprise at the venue, the Indian national anthem was played for two seconds, before the mistake was rectified immediately and ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was played. It led to a huge backlash from cricket enthusiasts on social media, who couldn’t stop themselves from laughing over this big blunder.

The national anthem blunder ahead of the Australia-England game is something which the host body Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) will have to explain in due course of time, as well as the action they will take against the concerned people.

Coming to the match, Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bowl first against England in their first Group B game of the eight-team tournament. Both teams came into Saturday’s match on the back of ODI series defeats in the subcontinent. While England suffered a 3-0 loss in India, Australia lost both of its ODIs in Colombo to Sri Lanka, a side who aren’t part of the ongoing Champions Trophy.

Both England and Australia need at least two wins from their Group B matches, also featuring South Africa and Afghanistan, to progress to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy. The two sides last met in ODIs last year in England, with Australia winning the series 3-2.

New Delhi, Feb 22: Ahead of the blockbuster clash against India on Sunday, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for emphasising too much on hosting the Champions Trophy rather than building a strong team for the tournament.

Pakistan suffered a bumpy start in their first ICC home tournament since 1996 as they lost to New Zealand by 60 runs in the opener in Karachi. The veteran bowler also lashed out at PCB for creating controversy on India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the eight-team spectacle.

“Pakistan focused more on hosting the Champions Trophy than thinking about building a good team. They messed up big time. They don’t focus on their cricket and create controversy on India not coming to Pakistan despite knowing that a hybrid model will be followed in the tournament. Recently, Pakistan failed to beat West Indies in the Test series. In the Tri-Nation Series, they lost too on home soil,” Kaneria told IANS.

“There is no combination in the team, they have kept required players out of the squad. They did so with Fakhar Zaman due to his statement (against PCB) and now brought him back into the team. He was a key member of this team and has proven that in the past,” he added.

Pakistan attack will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf while Abrar Ahmed is the sole specialist spinner in their squad with Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha contributing with part-time spin.

The 44-year-old further highlighted Pakistan’s weakness in batting and bowling departments and said there is no quality spinner in their attack.

“Pakistan have many issues, they have brought in Imam-ul-Haq as Fakhar’s replacement. There are two or three players who are good but apart from them, I don’t see anyone. They don’t have a good bowling attack. Shaheen’s pace has dropped, Haris Rauf is unpredictable as he can concede 100 to 80 runs in a match and he hasn’t picked his line and length. Abrar Ahmed is an average spinner, he is no genius… I think Noman Ali should play in ODIs as Pakistan have no quality spinner in the format,” Kaneria said.

New Delhi, Feb 21: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two cricketers who hold the power to bring the most populated country to a standstill, will be heading into the Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan on Sunday perhaps for the final time. In an exclusive conversation with Media, Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif stated that he believes the 2025 Champions Trophy will be the final time the heavily-reputed duo will face their arch-rivals.

Virat and Rohit have already confirmed their retirement from the shortest format, and the next 50-over ICC tournament will be the 2027 ODI World Cup to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

“I think it is their final ICC tournament. If you look at India’s batting lineup then you can see so many talented young players, like Jaiswal and Sai Sudarshan, who are just waiting for their turn in the pecking order. I think it’s their last time facing Pakistan as well unless they meet in the finals,” said Latif to IANS.

‘The Hitman’ has played 19 ODIs against Sunday’s opponents scoring 873 runs in all. The 37-year-old averages 51.35 against Pakistan in ODIs and has a strike rate of 92.38. Rohit has scored two centuries and eight half-centuries in 19 ODIs against Pakistan.

In 16 matches, Kohli has scored 678 runs against Pakistan at an average of 52.15 and a strike rate of 100.29. He has scored three centuries and two half-centuries and has a highest of 183.

Sunday’s clash is set to be a blockbuster with Pakistan facing a do-or-die situation having suffered a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in their opening Group A match while India registered a six-wicket victory over Bangladesh. A loss on Sunday would make Pakistan’s qualification to the final round virtually impossible.

Latif further elaborated on who he believes will be the two trump cards for their respective teams in the highly-anticipated matchup.

“For India (the trump card), it seems like Shubman Gill is the answer, as things are currently going it seems he will have an impact on the Champions Trophy but I have personally always been afraid of Rohit Sharma. He is a selfless batter, he sacrifices himself and does not care about milestones.

“For Pakistan, it is going to be Shaheen Afridi, if they can get early wickets only then will they have a chance in the match. I believe if Shaheen can swing the ball in Dubai then he can hurt them,” he added.