India Champions forfeited its opening fixture against Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. In the semi-final, India Champions once again staged a walk-over, giving Pakistan Champions direct entry into the final. Pakistan went on to clash against South Africa Champions in the final, but ended up on the losing side. One of the Indian legends, who was part of the competition and was involved at the forefront of the boycott decision, has now made a key revelation to NDTV regarding the walk-over, on condition of anonymity.
“It was a decision to not play against Shahid Afridi, given the statements he had made, and continues to make.”
So could the decision have been reversed had Shahid Afridi not been a part of the Pakistan Champions team? “It is an afterthought. We knew of our fixture against Pakistan but was not sure of the composition of the team,” the legend told NDTV.
“We are here to play cricket, and I’ve always said that cricket should be kept away from politics – it should move forward. A player should be a good ambassador, not a source of embarrassment for their country,” Afridi had said.
India Champions have players like Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan, all of whom refused to play against Pakistan Champions.
Both India and Pakistan were awarded a point each despite India pulling out of their group stage clash. That point proved to be decisive as India Champions staged a remarkable run chase against West Indies Champions in their final group game to seal a place in the semi-finals.
Following India’s boycott of the legends’ league, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a ban on the country’s participation in the WCL. This decision follows the PCB’s criticism of the WCL’s handling of the India-Pakistan matches, citing “hypocrisy and bias”.