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'Shikhar Dhawan and Afridi did all that fake acting': Fans riled up over former India cricketers willing to play against Pakistan in WCL
Former India cricketers, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, and Shikhar Dhawan, have drawn scathing criticism on social media for participating in the World Championship of Legends tournament alongside Pakistan players. The competition includes a respective legends team from both nations, and as per the schedule, the India vs Pakistan clash is slated to take place on Sunday, July 20.
As the tournament takes place amid a tenuous phase between the two countries, fans have gone hard on the Indian stalwarts for getting onboard with the competition, where they will have to play against Pakistan.
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Also Read | Asia Cup in further doubt as BCCI boycotts ACC meeting in Bangladesh, asks for change in venue: Report
Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh face fans' anger
The situation brought Shikhar Dhawan to the centre stage as the cricketer was quite vocal on X when a war-like situation brewed between India and Pakistan in May. Dhawan traded barbs with former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi as well on the micro-blogging platform as the tension on the border spiked.
Ghatiya desh ne fir apna ghatiyapan poori duniya ke aage dikha diya. #Pakistan#Ceasefire — Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) May 10, 2025
However, within a couple of months, Dhawan appears to have moved past the disagreement and is now willing to share space with Afridi on the field. Users on social media didn't let it go unnoticed, questioning the former Indian cricketer about the contradiction between his previous statements and current actions. Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh also faced criticism as they had previously posted messages of patriotism but are now set to compete against Pakistan on July 20.
Indian ex cricketers like Harbhajan, Yuvraj & Dhawan are happily playing WCL matches vs Pakistan in a private league! But when it's public, they scream nationalism. Why does the Govt stay silent? Is deshbhakti only for common people, not celebs? Hypocrisy much? https://t.co/aelQzXKJNC — Cricket for her (@coverdrivetoher) July 18, 2025
Shikhar Dhawan and Afridi did all that fake acting of patriotism in war just to play against each other again on Sunday. I am saying that again patriotism is only for normal public . India will also play with Pakistan in Asia cup too . #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/ZycCbezndG — kirat.13_ (@kirat8513) July 18, 2025
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Cricket has always been at the receiving end of the acrimony shared by India and Pakistan. Subsequently, more than a decade has passed since a bilateral series between the two took place. However, the arch-rivals often collide in international tournaments like the ICC ODI World Cup and ICC T20 World Cup.
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First Post
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‘My heart was shattered and I was on verge of tears': Harbhajan Singh reveals heartbreaking words from Sreesanth's daughter on IPL slapgate
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The Hindu
26 minutes ago
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Tryst with history as India seeks to break Old Trafford jinx
Until a fortnight ago, India hadn't won a Test match at Edgbaston. Shubman Gill's men created history in Birmingham with their commanding 336-run win in the second Test, correcting one anomaly. This week, they will get a chance to set another record straight at Old Trafford, a ground where nine previous Tests have failed to yield a victory. For various reasons, India have played a mere two Tests in Manchester in the preceding 35 years, the last of them 11 years ago. They were scheduled to play the fifth and final Test here in 2021 until the outbreak of Covid-19 in the ranks and the fear of what it might lead to forced Virat Kohli's men to fly out to Dubai holding a 2-1 lead. When India returned 12 months later, the Test was moved to Birmingham. By then, Rohit Sharma had replaced Kohli as the all-format captain but couldn't play the 'decider' due to Covid. In his first Test as stand-in skipper, Jasprit Bumrah oversaw a crushing seven-wicket loss with England hunting down a target of 378 with consummate ease, thanks to centuries from Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow as the hosts provided an early example of the 'Bazball' style of play that has since become their USP. The worst of India's four losses dates to July 1952 when Vijay Hazare's side was battered by an innings and 207 runs by an English outfit under Len Hutton. The skipper's century headlined an England tally of 347 for nine declared, after which India had two disastrous outings with the bat. In the first innings, with the fiery Fred Trueman (8/31) scything through their line-up, the visitors were shot out for 58 – a dubious record that went out the window in 1974 when Ajit Wadekar and his men were skittled for 42 at Lord's by Chris Old and Geoff Arnold. In the second innings, Alec Bedser and Tony Lock complemented Trueman by sharing nine wickets, India collapsing in a heap for 82 with Hemu Adhikari's 27 the highest score by an Indian across the two innings. In all, the double-figure mark was breached just five times and there were six ducks. India's last Test here was in August 2014, marked by further forgettable batting displays that netted them 152 and 161, which ensured that England's 367 was enough to drive them to an innings-and-54-run win. That was the series during which Kohli struggled to buy a run, aggregating just 134 in ten innings with a combination of James Anderson and the corridor of uncertainty his perennial bugbear. Kohli perished to the English swing king for 0 and 7, his travails mirroring that of his team's as they crashed and burned to a 1-3 hammering. Big disappointment The captain during that unedifying campaign was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was also at the helm when India wiped the floor 0-4 on the preceding tour in 2011 despite Rahul Dravid amassing 461 runs, studded by three centuries. That was just a few months before Dhoni abruptly announced his retirement from Test cricket during the tour of Australia over the winter, though the innings loss to Alastair Cook's men in 2014 wouldn't be the Jharkhandi's Old Trafford swansong. Dhoni returned to Manchester for the 2019 50-over World Cup, making 1 and an unbeaten 56 in comfortable league wins over Pakistan and West Indies respectively. Then came the big one, the semifinal against New Zealand which spilled over to the reserve day. When rain halted proceedings on the original match day (July 9), the Kiwis had laboured to 211 for five with Ross Taylor and Tom Latham holding fort. 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Despite his tender age and his lack of experience – it was just his ninth Test – Tendulkar instinctively knew that going into a shell was fraught with danger. And so he played his shots, not recklessly or on a song and a prayer, but with assurance and control with a stoic Prabhakar for company. A pushed three to long-off catapulted him past hundred, the thunderous ovation just the first of thousands that would accompany him till his last day as an international cricketer. Not quite 'Sa-chin, Saaaa-chin', though there's no prizes for guessing where the genesis of that chant lies.
India Today
30 minutes ago
- India Today
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