Legends face-off halted: WCL scraps India-Pak tie

A veterans' cricket match involving India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends here Sunday has been cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to be a part of it citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The second edition of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) tournament, which is co-owned by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, started June 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 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 Pakistan team has in its ranks captain Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal among a host of yesteryear players.

The organisers also apologised for "unintentionally causing discomfort" to Indian legends.