India

In a significant development ahead of the much-anticipated India vs Pakistan semi-final at the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025, Indian travel company EaseMyTrip has withdrawn its sponsorship. The company cited national sentiment and political sensitivities as the reason for backing out of the high-profile match.

The clash, scheduled after India secured a dramatic victory over West Indies to reach the knockouts, reignited political tensions between the two rival nationsβ€”especially in the wake of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Previously, India had refused to play its group-stage match against Pakistan, with several players choosing not to participate.

On Wednesday, EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti shared a statement on X (formerly Twitter) explaining the company’s position.

β€œπ‘»π’†π’“π’“π’π’“ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’ˆπ’ 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’Šπ’ 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 π’‚π’π’š 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’‚π’•π’•π’†π’Žπ’‘π’•π’” 𝒕𝒐 π’π’π’“π’Žπ’‚π’π’Šπ’”π’† π’“π’†π’π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’π’” π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒂 π’„π’π’–π’π’•π’“π’š 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’‘π’“π’π’Žπ’π’•π’†π’” π’•π’†π’“π’“π’π’“π’Šπ’”π’Ž,” π’˜π’“π’π’•π’† π‘·π’Šπ’•π’•π’Š.

β€œπ‘¬π’‚π’”π’†π‘΄π’šπ‘»π’“π’Šπ’‘ π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 π’‚π’”π’”π’π’„π’Šπ’‚π’•π’†π’… π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚ 𝒗𝒔 π‘·π’‚π’Œπ’Šπ’”π’•π’‚π’ π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ π’Šπ’ 𝑾π‘ͺ𝑳. π‘Ίπ’π’Žπ’† π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆπ’” 𝒂𝒓𝒆 π’ƒπ’Šπ’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’“ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕. π‘΅π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’•, π’ƒπ’–π’”π’Šπ’π’†π’”π’” 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓. π‘¨π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’”. π‘±π’‚π’Š π‘―π’Šπ’π’….”

Shikhar Dhawan Responds to Questions Over Participation

Veteran cricketer Shikhar Dhawan also addressed speculation regarding his involvement in the semi-final. The Indian Champions team had previously forfeited their league-stage encounter with Pakistan, and Dhawan’s stance remained unchanged.

β€œπ‘°π’‡ 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏’𝒕 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’… π’†π’‚π’“π’π’Šπ’†π’“, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’˜π’π’β€™π’• π’‘π’π’‚π’š,” π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… π‘«π’‰π’‚π’˜π’‚π’, π’…π’†π’„π’π’Šπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 π’„π’π’Žπ’Žπ’†π’π’• 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’–π’ˆπ’ˆπ’†π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 π’‚π’—π’π’Šπ’… 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 π’’π’–π’†π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’π’”.

β€œπ‘©π’“π’π’•π’‰π’†π’“, π’šπ’π’–β€™π’“π’† π’‚π’”π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’’π’–π’†π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’“π’π’π’ˆ 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 π’“π’Šπ’ˆπ’‰π’• π’π’π’˜. 𝑰𝒇 π’šπ’π’–β€™π’“π’† π’‚π’”π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒅𝒐 π’šπ’π’– π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ π‘°β€™π’Ž π’ˆπ’π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒕𝒐 π’‚π’π’”π’˜π’†π’“?”

The situation has once again highlighted the complex intersection of cricket and geopolitics, with sponsors and players increasingly forced to take clear stances amid national sensitivities.

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