The World Championship of Legends (WCL) organizers have finally addressed the controversy surrounding the cancelled India vs Pakistan match, clarifying that the Indian team was not at fault. According to WCL sources, the organizers had informed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that they were unable to hold the high-profile fixture due to specific reasons, and India should not be blamed.
Prior to the match, WCL had officially announced that the much-awaited clash between India Champions and Pakistan Champions at Edgbaston, Birmingham, was being called off. Reports suggest that a number of Indian legends had chosen not to participate in the game.
Tensions Rise as Pakistan Declines to Share Points
The refusal by the Indian players is linked to the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, where several tourists lost their lives. The incident heightened political tensions between the two countries and influenced the players’ decision.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Champions team has reportedly refused to share points, insisting that India was the one to pull out, not them.
“𝑾𝑪𝑳 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝑩𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚, 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕,” 𝒂 𝑾𝑪𝑳 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑨𝑵𝑰.
“𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”
Indian Stars Take a Firm Stand
Veterans like Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan were among those who chose not to play. Dhawan even made the communication public, posting an email he sent to the WCL organisers dated May 11, in which he explained the reasons behind the boycott.
“𝑱𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒎 11 𝑴𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒂, 𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏. 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂,” 𝑫𝒉𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑿.
(𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒚 11. 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚.)
Other Indian players are also believed to have echoed Dhawan’s stance, showing unified support for their nation amid rising geopolitical tensions.
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