Within the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025), a much-anticipated conflict between India Champions and Pakistan Champions was referred to as off after a number of Indian gamers opted out of the fixture due to the present geopolitical state of affairs and tensions between the 2 neighbouring nations. The match, scheduled for July 20 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, was set to be India’s event opener however was cancelled after Indian legends expressed their unwillingness to play in opposition to their arch-rivals.
The fallout comes from the April 22 Pahalgam terror assault in India, which triggered cross-border tensions with Pakistan. Shahid Afridi, who had beforehand made remarks alleging Indian involvement in terror actions in opposition to their folks, confronted intense backlash from Indian followers. Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan publicly declared he wouldn’t take part in any match involving the Pakistan facet because of the geopolitical state of affairs.
His assertion was backed by withdrawals from different Indian gamers, together with Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Yusuf Pathan. Following the general public outrage and gamers’ stand, WCL organisers have been compelled to cancel the India-Pakistan tie. Publish which, Shahid Afridi broke his silence and slammed Dhawan and the Indian contingent.
“Sports activities brings nations nearer. If politics comes between all the pieces then how will you progress ahead? With out communication, issues can’t be solved. The concept for these sorts of occasions can be to satisfy one on one. However you understand, there may be at all times one rotten egg, which spoils all the pieces. They educated a day earlier than the match. I feel that they pulled out simply due to one man. Even the Indian crew could be very dissatisfied. They have been right here to play. I’m telling you, try to be a very good ambassador for the nation, not a humiliation,” Afridi informed the media on Sunday, July 20.
If that they had not performed for me, I’d have stayed dwelling: Afridi
Notably, Afridi’s request to maintain politics out of cricket contrasts along with his previous feedback. Simply months in the past, he accused India of orchestrating the Pahalgam assaults and blamed the Indian navy for inaction. His involvement within the WCL match, regardless of these prior statements, grew to become a sizzling subject for Indian gamers. Nonetheless, Afridi later expressed remorse over the cancellation and claimed he would have stepped again if knowledgeable earlier.
“We have been very excited to play the second match (vs India). I believed we’d be on the floor. We have been anticipating 17,000–18,000 followers, who would have loved the match. However yeah, it’s fairly disappointing that we didn’t play. If they didn’t performed for me, I’d have stayed dwelling. Cricket ought to have continued. Who’s Shahid Afridi in entrance of cricket? Nobody. If they didn’t wish to play why did they arrive right here? Go sit at dwelling and play between yourselves,” he added.
WCL organisers have since confirmed that the remainder of the event will go forward as deliberate. Pakistan Champions have been awarded two factors for the cancelled recreation, and the opportunity of an India-Pakistan knockout conflict continues to be unsure. Pakistan Champions proprietor Kamil Khan identified that future conferences between the 2 sides can be prevented within the group phases, however added that any potential semi-final or last conflict can be determined based mostly on circumstances.
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