In a major announcement, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has imposed a blanket ban on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). The decision stems from what the PCB describes as “biased conduct” by the WCL organisers, particularly after India Champions refused to play two matches—including the semi-final—against Pakistan Champions.
PCB Slams WCL for Favoritism and Political Interference
According to the PCB, points awarded to India despite forfeiting matches were “tainted with hypocrisy and bias.” The board also condemned the WCL’s inconsistent application of the “peace through sport” slogan, accusing the tournament of favoring political and commercial agendas over fair play.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝑪𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
The strong-worded statement was issued after the PCB’s 79th board of governors meeting, chaired virtually by Mohsin Naqvi.
Spirit of the Game Undermined
The PCB made it clear that they won’t allow their players to participate in events where “skewed politics” overrides the true essence of sportsmanship.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅.
Even though WCL had issued a public apology for “hurting sentiments”, the PCB dismissed it as insincere and performative.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒔, 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
Final Word
While reiterating its commitment to promoting global cricket and healthy rivalries, the PCB asserted it will not tolerate events that compromise integrity and the spirit of cricket.
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