After ‘Operation Sindoor', India vs Pakistan called off due to…
India and Pakistan were scheduled to face-off in the World Championship of Legends cricket match in Birmingham on Sunday. However, the match has been cancelled following the refusal of Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, to participate in the match due to the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
The second edition of the tournament kicked off on June 18 at Edgbaston and will be concluded on August 2. The India legends are captained by World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh and the team also have Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron, among others.
WCL organisers issues statement, says their intent was to create 'Happy memories'
The WCL organisers issued a statement on their X account, and shared the decision of cancellation, while they also said that their intent while playing the match was to create some happy memories.
'After hearing the news that the Pakistan hockey team will be coming to India this year, and seeing the recent India vs Pakistan volleyball match along with a few other fixtures between the two nations in different sports, we thought of continuing with the India vs Pakistan match at WCL, just to create some happy memories for people around the globe.' the WCL statement read
'But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions,' the statement further read
Dear all , pic.twitter.com/ViIlA3ZrLl
— World Championship Of Legends (@WclLeague) July 19, 2025
Shikhar Dhawan backs out of India vs Pakistan match
Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, has withdrawn from the highly-anticipated India vs Pakistan match in the World Championship of Legends 2025, which was due to take place on Sunday at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham. Dhawan cited the Pahalgam terror attack as the reason for backing out of all matches against Pakistan, on social media.
'Jo kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh se badhkar kuch nahi hota (The decision I took on May 11, I stand by it even today. My country means everything to me, and nothing is above the nation)' Dhawan said in a statement
Jo kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh se badhkar kuch nahi hota.
Jai Hind! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gLCwEXcrnR
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 19, 2025
He had previously cleared his stance on May 11, stating he would participate in the tournament, but would not play in any matches against Pakistan.
'Dear Team, I trust this email finds you well. This is to fomally reiterate and confirm that Mr. Shikhar Dhawan will not be participating in any matches against the Pakistan team in the upcoming WCL League. This decision was communicated earlier during our discussion on call and WhatsApp dated 11th May 2025,' Dhawan's official statement read
The Pahalgam terror attack took place on April 22 and left 26 civilians dead outside of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, and the attack was initially claimed by The Resistance Front which is part of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India's WCL squad
Yuvraj Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Piyush Chawla, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Siddarth Kaul, Gurkeerat Singh Maan.
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