Photo Of Fans Holding Indian And Afghanistan Flag Linked To 2025 Champions Trophy

An old photo of spectators holding a banner featuring an Indian and an Afghanistan flag is being linked to the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy match between England and Afghanistan, held in Lahore, Pakistan recently.

The photo shows spectators holding the banner as a mark of 'brotherhood' between both the countries.

Also Read:Edited Photo Viral Claiming Afghanistan Cricketer Celebrated With Indian Flag

According to reports, the Indian flag was initially 'missing' at the Karachi Stadium which had flags of the remaining participating teams of the Champions Trophy. Later the tricolour was spotted at the stadium during the opening match of the tournament between New Zealand and Pakistan on February 19, 2025. A video also went viral from the Gaddafi Stadium showing two officials snatching an Indian flag and dragging a spectator by his collar during the England vs Australia match on February 22.

The viral photo was posted on X with the caption, "A beautiful picture of love and brotherhood #AFGvsENG | Ibrahim Zadran | #AFGvENG #ChampionsTrophy"

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The same photo is also being shared on Instagram and YouTube linking it to the England vs Afghanistan match held in Lahore.

Afghanistan men's cricket team knocked England out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on February 26, 2025, after winning by eight runs at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is being hosted by Pakistan, however since India refused to travel to the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board opted for a hybrid model with India's matches being held in Dubai.

FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the photo is from the Afghanistan vs Australia match held in Mumbai during the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup.

On the top left corner of the viral photo we can see the logo of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023.

Taking a hint from that we ran a reverse image search which showed that the photo dates back to 2023, when the banner was spotted during the Afghanistan vs Australia match that was played in Wankhede stadium in Mumbai during the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.

We also found visuals of the same banner being waved during the Afghanistan vs Australia match on November 7, 2023, that have been posted on YouTube.