Harbhajan, Pathan brothers pull out of IND vs PAK WCL match amid Pahalgam backlash; fixture set to be cancelled: Report
The Indian WCL team were recently at the receiving end of criticism of fans after it was revealed that Shahid Afridi would be part of the Pakistan team too. The Indian captain Yuvraj Singh, Shikhar Dhawan were also involved in social media war with the likes of Afridi over his anti-India remarks.
The Pahalgam terror attack saw 26 civilians get killed by armed terrorists near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22. The attack's responsibiity was initially claimed by The Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, with missile strikes on terrorism-related infrastructure and facilities of Pakistan-based militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan across the border. Even Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling and drone attacks, which was foiled by India.
Although there has been no official update on the match, it is scheduled for July 20, and is set to begin at 9:00 PM IST. It will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. According to reports, even other Indian players are expected to withdraw from the upcoming fixture. But there hasn't been any other confirmation yet.
Also, the BCCI doesn't have any control over the participation of Indian players at the WCL, since it is an independent tournament and doesn't fall under their jurisdiction.
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