Watch: Shikhar Dhawan's Sweet Interaction With Girlfriend Sophie Shine On Sidelines Of WCL
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Mint
4 hours ago
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Shahid Afridi brings Atal Bihari Vajpayee in mix in describing IND vs PAK ties amid WCL boycott; ‘it's embarrassing…'
Shahid Afridi brought former Prime Ministers Parvez Musharraf and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in describing the Indo-Pak relationship after the India Champions withdrew against Pakistan Champions twice in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL). The Yuvraj Singh-led side first pulled out against the arch-rivals in the league stage before doing the same in the WCL 2025 semifinals, helping the Men in Green's smooth entry in to the summit clash. The Indian players' withdrawal against Pakistan Champions in WCL 2025 came after their decision to put the nation first and severe social media backlash in the light of Pahalgam attack that killed 26 innocent lives on April 22. Shikhar Dhawan was one of the Indians players to publicly withdraw from the game. In a viral video, Afridi reiterated the message of message of diplomacy while describing the India-Pakistan relations. 'I have always said there is no better diplomacy than sports diplomacy," Afridi continued. "Our relationship (India-Pakistan) had not been good in the past but matches didn't stop, if you remember time of (Parvez) Musharraf and (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee. If you don't sit, don't play together it creates a distance,' added Afridi. 'Cricket should happen, we should keep politics aside. If politics is a part of everything, then we can't go ahead,' Afridi stated. The India-Pakistan political differences have been an old story for decades. Afridi's Vajpayee reference came from India's Pakistan tour in 2004. It was Vajpayee's peace initiative in 2003 that led the Indian cricket team to tour their neighbours after a gap of almost 15 years. While it was believed that India withdrew against Pakistan in the light of Pahalgam attack, another notion came out that Yuvraj's boys refused to play against Afridi specifically. Reacting to this, Afridi urged the Indians to not to be an 'embarrassment' for own country. 'I had also told them, if you don't want me, I won't come to the ground but cricket should not stop. The game of cricket is bigger than anything, bigger than me. You should try to become a good ambassador for your own country and not an embarrassment for your country. A few players didn't want to play and that's why the whole issue took place,' he added.
Mint
6 hours ago
- Mint
Pakistan vs South Africa live streaming: When and where to watch WCL 2025 final in India? Check PAK vs SA predicted XIs
Pakistan Champions will be aiming for their first-ever World Championship of Legends (WCL) title when they take on South Africa Champions in the final on August 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Pakistan had played in the final last year but were beaten by India. However, things were different as far as the Indian Champions are concerned in WCL 2025. The defending champions won just one game in the league stage and withdrew against Pakistan twice, including the semifinal, thus helping the Men in Green get a walkover to the final. The decision of Indian players not playing against Pakistan came after the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 innocent lives on April 22. Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina were the Indian players who came out in public and expressed their views. Meanwhile, Pakistan and South Africa have been the two unbeaten sides in the tournament. South African captain AB de Villiers has been in prolific form with two hundreds in the competition. The Proteas made their way into the summit clash with an one-run win over Australia Champions in the other semifinal. Venue: Edgbaston in Birmingham Pakistan Champions: Sharjeel Khan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Asif Ali, Shoaib Malik (c), Imad Wasim, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal. South Africa Champions: AB de Villiers (c), JJ Smuts, Jacques Rudolph, Sarel Erwee, Jean-Paul Duminy, Henry Davids, Morne van Wyk (wk), Wayne Parnell, Hardus Viljoen, Aaron Phangiso, Duanne Olivier. The WCL 2025 final between Pakistan Champions and South Africa Champions will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 2. The final game will Start at 9 PM IST. Star Sports are the official broadcasters of WCL 2025 in India. The Pakistan Champions vs South Africa Champions final match will live telecast on Star Sports channels in India. Live streaming of Pakistan Champions vs South Africa Champions will be available on FanCode app and website in India.
News18
8 hours ago
- News18
'Ego Ke Liye Shaklein Bhi...': Shahid Afridi's Nasty Dig At India For WCL Exit
Shahid Afridi lashed out further at India Champions' withdrawal from the WCL semi-final against Pakistan as 'embarrassing' and driven by 'one or two guys'. Shahid Afridi called the India Champions team's withdrawal from their semi-final against Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL), a private T20 league, 'embarrassing'. He said it was motivated by 'one or two guys' on the Indian side, without mentioning the names. Some Indian players had withdrawn from the WCL group stage game against Pakistan, citing their will to put the nation first, after severe social media backlash in light of the Pahalgam attack. As luck would have it, they reached the semi-final against each other and then backed out again. It allowed Pakistan to get a walkover to the final. 'You need to be a good ambassador of your nation, not an embarrassment. It's because of one or two guys that this has happened. It's embarrassing overall," Afridi told a Pakistani journalist. When asked whether it was a question of 'ego' in the Indian team, Afridi gave a crude retort. ' Ego ke liye shaklein bhi chahiye fir! (You need to be good-looking first to be egoistic)," he said. The summit clash against South Africa is slated for Saturday (August 2). Afridi started the interview on a much calmer tone, reiterating the message of diplomacy. He said when news came out that India were refusing to play against Afridi specifically, the former Pakistan captain even offered to not come to the ground because 'cricket is above everything'. 'I am Pakistan and Pakistan is me. It's my country. I have always said there's no better diplomacy between India and England in cricket. If you see tensions were there in the past too, but matches kept happening, the leaders sat together, watched matches together. You remember Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time. If you don't play, don't sit together, the distances will increase," Afridi said. 'It's very disappointing. 17,000 people were supposed to come from quite far places. Everyone is disappointed. I just want cricket to be separate from politics. If politics meddle with everything, we won't be able to move forward. Only those communities prosper that keep these things apart and talk," he added. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
