The much-anticipated clash between India Champions and Pakistan Champions in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 has been officially cancelled. The match was scheduled as part of the six-team tournament currently being held in England but was called off following controversy and strong reactions from the Indian cricket fraternity.
Decision Taken Over “Public Sentiment” and Player Discomfort
In an announcement made via its official Instagram handle, the WCL confirmed that the cancellation was due to “hurting public sentiments” and “causing inconvenience” to Indian cricket legends. The decision follows a notable refusal by former Indian stars—Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, and Yusuf Pathan—to participate in the match against the Pakistan Champions.
The key reason behind their withdrawal stems from heightened tensions following the recent Pahalgam terror attack in India. The players had publicly supported India’s retaliatory military action, Operation Sindoor, and chose to abstain from the match in protest.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝑪𝑳 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Friendly Intentions Misinterpreted
The WCL clarified that the India Champions -Pakistan Champions clash was conceptualized with a spirit of sportsmanship, inspired by a recent friendly volleyball match between the two nations. Their goal was to foster unity and goodwill among fans. However, the announcement was not well received by many and unintentionally triggered negative sentiment.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.”
Tournament Continues Across England
Despite this setback, the WCL 2025 tournament—sanctioned by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)—continues as planned. The event runs from July 18 to August 2, with matches taking place in Birmingham, Northampton, Leicester, and Leeds.
The tournament features retired international cricketers representing six teams: India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies, promising fans high-quality cricket and nostalgic moments from the legends of the game.
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