In a significant move, the India Champions have withdrawn from their scheduled semifinal clash against the Pakistan Champions in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025. The decision follows their earlier stance of refusing to play Pakistan during the group stage of the tournament.
Top Indian cricket legends such as Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, and Suresh Raina reportedly opposed participating in the July 20 fixture. According to NDTV Sports, the latest development also stems from widespread criticism of the BCCI on social media after India’s Asia Cup 2025 schedule was announced.
Political Strain and Public Backlash Intensify the Situation
Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have further deteriorated following the Pahalgam terror attacks and India’s subsequent military response, codenamed Operation Sindoor. These developments have fueled public outrage and intensified scrutiny over cricketing ties between the two countries.
One major fallout of the situation has been the withdrawal of EaseMyTrip, a leading tournament sponsor, from the high-profile semifinal match. The company reiterated its firm stance on not associating with matches involving Pakistan.
“𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅,” 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒆𝑴𝒚𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝒄𝒐-𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑷𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊. “𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎.”
Despite the tensions, the Asia Cup remains on schedule, with India and Pakistan expected to face off on September 14 and potentially again on September 21 and 28.
India Sealed Semifinal Spot in Style
India Champions had stormed into the semifinals after a dominant five-wicket win, chasing down a 145-run target in just 13.2 overs. Stuart Binny’s explosive 50* off 21 balls ensured the team advanced by finishing the chase inside the 14.4-over cutoff needed to qualify ahead of England Champions.
“𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒀𝒖𝒗𝒓𝒂𝒋 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑-𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.”
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