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.
The second edition of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) tournament, which is co-owned by film actor Ajay Devgn, started on July 18 at Edgbaston here and is scheduled for an August 2 final.
World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the India Champions, while the squad 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 X, 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.
Former India opener Dhawan also shared a statement on X, announcing his stand not to participate in the match against Pakistan.
“This is to formally reiterate and confirm that Mr. Shikhar Dhawan will not be participating in any matches against the Pakistan team in the upcoming WCL League. This decision was communicated earlier during our discussion on call and WhatsApp dated 11th May 2025,” read his statement.
Off-spin legend Harbhajan, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP; Yusuf, who is also a Member of Parliament; and Irfan, too, have conveyed their decision to boycott the match against Pakistan, though they are yet to issue a statement.