New Delhi: The organisers of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) have officially called off the India-Pakistan match to be played today (July 20, 2025 ) and apologised for “hurting the sentiments” of people, after several Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to be a part of it citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
The 4th WCL match was to be played between IND Champs and PAK Champs at Birmingham. In its statement on X, the WCL authorities said that it had announced the India-Pak fixture after a recent volleyball match between the two countries to “create happy memories” for fans, but this may have ended up hurting the feelings of many and causing discomfort to the Indian legends.
“…maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions. More than that, we unintentionally caused discomfort to our Indian Cricket Legends, who have brought so much glory to the country, and we ended up affecting the brands who supported us purely out of love for the game. Hence, we have declared to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” the WCL said.
It apologised for “hurting the sentiments” and said it hoped people would understand that “all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans”.
The second edition of the tournament started on June 18 at Edgbaston and is scheduled for an August 2 final. World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the India legends, while the squad also features the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron among others. India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win the inaugural edition of the six-team legends tournament last year in Edgbaston.
Earlier, several Indian players like Suresh Raina and Dhawan also informed the media that they would not be playing the India-Pakistan game. Sources said some other players in the India line-up had also taken a similar stance.
“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!” (The decision I took on May 11, I stand by today as well. My country is everything for me, nothing is above it) Dhawan wrote in a post on X early Sunday.
Dhawan also shared an email written to the tournament organisers where he said that the decision to not play against Pakistan had been communicated to the organisers on May 11. The email said that the decision not to play Pakistan was taken in consideration of the current geo-political situation.
One of the tournament sponsors, Travel-tech Portal EaseMyTrip also released an official statement regarding its sponsorship of the WCL. The company clarified its stance, stating that despite entering into a 5-year sponsorship agreement with WCL two years ago, it will not associate with or participate in any match involving Pakistan.
