Published: Jul 20, 2025, 10:14 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 20, 2025, 10:24 AM (IST)
A veterans’ cricket match involving India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends here on Sunday has been cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to be a part of it citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the India Champions, while the squad also features the likes of Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron among others.
The WCL organisers shared a statement on their X account, detailing the decision of cancellation and said their intention while conducting the match was to recreate 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. But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions,” the WCL statement read.
The organisers also apologised for “unintentionally causing discomfort” to Indian legends.
“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,” it read.
In cricket, India and Pakistan do not engage in bilateral series, limiting their face-offs to global ICC events such as the World Cup and Champions Trophy.
A hybrid hosting model was introduced during this year’s Champions Trophy, under which India played its matches at a neutral venue – Dubai – while the rest of the tournament was held in Pakistan.
(Written with inputs from PTI)
