Legends League: Today’s India-Pakistan cricket match cancelled

New Delhi. The India vs Pakistan Legends match to be held in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) has now been cancelled. Amidst the controversy and resentment over this match, the organizers have issued an official statement announcing the cancellation of the match.

Earlier, many former Indian cricketers – Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan – had withdrawn their names from this match. Shikhar Dhawan expressed his displeasure on social media about this and wrote – ‘My country is everything for me and nothing is more important than the country.’

What did WCL say in its statement?
WCL said in its statement, ‘We in WCL have always loved cricket very much and our only aim has been to give some good and pleasant moments to the audience. When we came to know that this year the Pakistan hockey team is coming to India, and recently there have been matches between the two countries in some other sports including the India-Pakistan volleyball match, we thought of creating some memorable and happy moments for the people by organizing an India-Pakistan match in the WCL.’

The statement further said, ‘But perhaps in this process we hurt the feelings of many people and inadvertently provoked many sentiments. More than that, we put those Indian cricket legends in an uncomfortable position who have brought a lot of pride to the country. At the same time, we also affected those brands who were supporting us only because of their love for the game. That is why we have decided to cancel the India-Pakistan match.’

Organizers apologized
The organizers said, ‘We once again apologize wholeheartedly for hurting all those sentiments. We hope that people will understand that our only intention was to give some happy moments to cricket lovers.’

‘No negotiations with terror’
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has reacted to the cancellation of the India-Pakistan match in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). She tweeted, ‘Thank you. No negotiations with terror and no cricket with players who insulted my country during the times of conflict. The collective voice of the country can move mountains. Big thanks to all those who opposed India-Pakistan cricket matches after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor and supported my demand to cancel this match. It has now happened – WCL has dropped the India-Pakistan match. Jai Hind!’