WCL in chaos! Sponsors ditch Pakistan after India legends' shock exit — ‘Will not engage in...'
The veterans' cricket match between India and Pakistan scheduled for Sunday in the World Championship of Legends in Birmingham has been cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, withdrew citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
The decision came after Indian players faced criticism on social media for agreeing to play against Pakistan, leading to multiple players including Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, and Irfan Pathan boycotting the match.
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The tournament, co-owned by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, began on June 18 at Edgbaston and is set to conclude with the final on August 2.
EaseMyTrip.com, a leading sponsor of the WCL has also released a statement.
"Despite entering into a 5-year sponsorship agreement with the World Championship of Legends (WCL) two years ago, our stance has always been clear—EaseMyTrip will not be associated with or participate in any WCL match involving Pakistan
"
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We proudly continue to support the India Champions and stand firmly by our team. However, as a matter of principle, we do not support or promote any match that includes Pakistan.
"This position was communicated unambiguously to the WCL team from the beginning. EaseMyTrip supports Team India, but will not engage in any match featuring Pakistan.
"Let's bring the cup home. Bharat First. Always."
The WCL organizers explained their initial decision to hold the match through a statement on their X account: "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.
But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions."
The organizers subsequently announced the cancellation: "Hence, we have decided to call off the India-Pakistan match. We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans."
India had previously defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the inaugural edition of the six-team legends tournament last year at Edgbaston.
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