The World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025) match between India Champions and Pakistan Champions was postponed when some Indian players pulled out due to geopolitical tensions. India’s tournament opener, slated for July 20 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, was scrapped when legends refused to face their archrivals.
The April 22 Pahalgam terror assault in India sparked Pakistan-India tensions. Indian supporters slammed Shahid Afridi for accusing Indian involvement in terror against their people. Due of geopolitics, former India opener Shikhar Dhawan said he wouldn’t play Pakistan.
WCL cancelled the India-Pakistan match due to public indignation and players’ protests.
Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Yusuf Pathan withdrew to support his claim. Shahid Afridi then criticised Dhawan and the Indian team.
Country bonds are strengthened by sports. How will you proceed if politics interferes? Without communication, problems cannot be solved. These events are also about meeting one-on-one. As usual, one rotten egg ruins everything. They practiced the day before. I assume they left because of one man. Indian players are also upset. They came to play. You should be a good ambassador for the country, not an embarrassment “Afridi told reporters on July 20.
Without their music, I would have stayed home: Afridi
Afridi’s desire to keep politics out of cricket contradicts his earlier statements. Just months earlier, he accused India of organising the Pahalgam bombings and the Indian military of passivity. Despite these assurances, Indian players discussed his WCL match participation. Afridi later regretted the cancellation and said he would have resigned if notified earlier.
We were eager for the second encounter against India. I expected to be on the ground. We anticipated 17,000–18,000 fans to enjoy the contest. We didn’t play, which is frustrating. Without their music, I would have stayed home. Cricket should’ve continued. Who is Shahid Afridi in cricket? No one. Why come here if they didn’t want to play? Sit home and play” he said.
Later, WCL organisers confirmed that the rest of the competition will go. Pakistan Champions received two points for the cancelled game, while an India-Pakistan knockout match is still under consideration. Pakistan Champions owner Kamil Khan said future matches between the two teams would be avoided in the group stages, but a semi-final or final match would be decided by circumstances.
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