India vs Pakistan WCL 2025 fixture called off after several Indian legends pull out

The India vs Pakistan encounter in the World Championship of Legends 2025 season has been called off after several players from the India Champions franchise decided to pull out of the game due to the ongoing cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.

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On Sunday, July 20, the WCL official social media platforms have come up with a statement, confirming that the fixture between the arch-rivals has been called off and issued an apology for causing any hurt. Notably, Yuvraj Singh is leading the India Champions side while Shahid Afridi is the Pakistan Champions’ captain.

Here is the full statement from the WCL:

"We at WCL have always cherished and loved cricket, and our only aim has been to give fans some good, happy moments.

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.

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 decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match. We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans."

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India Today was the first to publish a report, stating that former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan were among the first to pull out of the game against Pakistan, citing the prevailing geopolitical situation.

Moreover, the former India opener Shikhar Dhawan took to X (formerly Twitter), sharing an email he had sent to the tournament organisers, informing his decision to pull out of the fixture. Eventually, WCL had to call off the encounter.

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