India Pulls Out, Pakistan to Play in the Final
India and Pakistan will not meet in the semi-final of the World Championship of Legends (WCL). Due to ongoing political tensions between the two countries, India Champions have refused to face Pakistan Champions, allowing the latter a direct entry into the final.
Although WCL organizers have yet to make an official announcement, reported on Wednesday that India has withdrawn from the semi-final clash.
Earlier in the group stage, the Indian side — featuring former stars like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, and Robin Uthappa — had also declined to play their scheduled match against Pakistan on July 20. As a result, both teams were awarded one point each.
Pakistan topped the group with 9 points from 5 matches and booked their place in the semi-finals. India, with just 3 points, finished fourth and also advanced to the last four.
The much-anticipated semi-final between India and Pakistan was set to take place this Thursday at Edgbaston. But with India stepping away, Pakistan will move straight into the final. They’ll face the winner of the second semi-final between Australia Champions and South Africa Champions in the title match.
India has not played a bilateral series against Pakistan in over a decade. The two rivals only face each other in ICC and ACC tournaments. Political relations took a turn for the worse following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, in April this year. The tensions even escalated to a military conflict.
Since then, the two teams haven’t met in any international match. However, they are expected to face off on September 14 in the Men’s Asia Cup in the UAE, and again on October 6 when their women’s teams meet in the ODI World Cup in Colombo.
