A group of former Indian cricket players decided not to participate against Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) that is now taking place in Birmingham. Due to continuing political tensions between the two countries, Indian players, notably Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, and Shikhar Dhawan, declined to play in Sunday's highly anticipated group stage match between India and Pakistan.
The WCL organisers later released a statement on X (formerly Twitter), explaining the cancellation. They said the match was originally planned to "recreate some happy memories" between the two teams but had to be called off following the Indian players’ stand.
Ajay Devgn-Shahid Afridi photo goes viral
Soon after the cancellation, a photo of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn with former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi began circulating widely on social media, sparking controversy. Critics slammed Ajay for posing with Afridi, who had previously made controversial remarks about the Indian Army during border tensions.
Ajay Devgn is one of the co-owners of the ongoing WCL, which added to the backlash. However, the viral photo is not recent. It was taken during the final match of the 2024 edition of the World Championship of Legends held at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Ajay Devgn attended the final between India Champions and Pakistan Champions, which India won. The image resurfaced after the India-Pakistan match in the current season was cancelled.
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Possibility of India-Pakistan face-off in knockouts
Although the league match was cancelled, there’s still a chance the two teams may face each other again in the semi-finals—if both India and Pakistan qualify. A final clash between the arch-rivals is also possible if they win their respective semi-final matches. WCL organisers are already preparing for this possibility. When asked about the tournament’s future in light of the controversy, Pakistan Champions’ team owner Kamil Khan confirmed that all remaining matches will go ahead as scheduled.
"All the remaining matches are taking place. The tournament is going on as per schedule, and there are no changes. As for the semifinals and final, we're currently saying that if we make it to the semifinals, there will be four teams, and we will avoid matches between the two teams," Khan said. The tournament will continue as planned, but the organisers may need to step in if India and Pakistan are set to face off again in the knockout stage.
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