New Delhi: What was supposed to be a match evoking nostalgia for cricket fans across the subcontinent turned into a slugfest due to “geopolitical differences”. A match between former cricketers of India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) was cancelled after several Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, declined to participate, over the Pahalgam terror attack, the tournament organisers said Sunday.
The WCL, which features retired international players competing in a T20 format, kicked off on 18 July in Birmingham, England. In a post on X, the organisers said the India-Pakistan clash had been scheduled in the spirit of recent positive signs in bilateral sporting ties.
“After hearing the news that the Pakistan hockey team will be coming to India this year, and seeing the recent India vs Pakistan volleyball match along with a few other fixtures between the two nations in different sports, we thought of continuing with the India vs Pakistan match at WCL – just to create some happy memories for people around the globe,” WCL said in a post on X.
Launched in 2024 at Edgbaston, WCL has featured ex-cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, AB de Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan, and Alastair Cook, among others.
Co-founded by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn and entrepreneur Harshit Tomar, its second season began earlier this week with matches between English and Pakistani “champions”. Its second season kicked off earlier this week with a match between the England and Pakistan players.
The match was set to mark the first India-Pakistan face-off in this year’s World Championship of Legends. Pakistan’s captain is Mohammad Hafeez, while Yuvraj Singh leads the Indian side.
However, the WCL organisers announced, “We have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” following the Indian team’s decision to pull out.
Pakistani cricket fans feel slighted. They think “politics has ruined the game”.
Even cricketers agreed.
“The game comes first. As a sport, cricket is the biggest thing. Bringing politics into it or an Indian cricketer saying he won’t play against Pakistan — then don’t play, just sit out. But sports is bigger, cricket is bigger, and it’s bigger than Shahid Afridi too,” former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi told Pakistani reporters.
“We’ve come here to play cricket. If [India] didn’t want to play against Pakistan, they should’ve refused before coming here. But now you’ve arrived, practiced, and then changed everything,” Afridi added.
Later, Afridi acknowledged that earlier criticisms he’d made of India post-Pahalgam may have sparked the pullout:
“If I had known the match was being stopped because of me, I wouldn’t have even gone to the ground. But cricket should go on,” he said.
On his YouTube channel, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt confronted India’s stance head-on. He challenged the country to extend its “nationalist stance” beyond fringe events and into official competitions like the World Cup or Olympics: “Now don’t play in the World Cup… don’t play against us in any ICC tournament. Make this a promise.”
Also read: ‘My only crime is reporting truth’—Pakistan bans 27 YouTube channels over ‘anti-state content’
Pre-Asia cup chaos
Across social media, Pakistanis are disappointed and angry.
“In my humble opinion: the Pakistan management at the WCL should pack their bags and return home… This should be taken as a professional insult and someone needs to end this shithousery for once. Ain’t we all pumped up for pre-Asia Cup drama?” a Pakistani X user, Mohammad Aizaz, said.
The Asia Cup and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have become the latest flashpoints in the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. While both countries agreed to play their matches at neutral venues under the 2024–2027 broadcast cycle, critical issues like visa approvals for Pakistani players and revenue-sharing continue to complicate matters.
“Boycotting a WCL match? Wow, what a brave stand against a nostalgia league that means literally nothing. No stakes, no consequences, just vibes,” cricket podcasters Bashaar Nawaz & M Nazar Syed joined in.
Pakistan Champions’ owner, Kamil Khan, confirmed the rest of the tournament would proceed without changes—and that Pakistan would receive walkover points for the abandoned match.
The inaugural edition of WLC, held in the UK last year, saw the India Champions defeat the Pakistan Champions in the final to claim the title. The inaugural season featured teams from India, Pakistan, Australia, England, the West Indies, and South Africa, all of whom are returning for the second edition of the tournament.
According to the WCL website, the tournament will run until 2 August and matches are being held across four English cities: Birmingham, Northampton, Leeds, and Leicester.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)