Indian veteran cricketers refuse to play WCL match against Pakistan, clash cancelled

The match was scheduled to be a part of the World Championship of Legends.

Shikhar Dhawan, former Indian cricketer, shared on X his statement where he said he will not play the match against Pakistan in the context of the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

Pakistan-backed terrorists had attacked and killed 26 innocent people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam region of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, marking one of the deadliest terror attacks the nation had witnessed in recent years.

Dhawans said he took the decision since his nation remained the topmost priority in his life.

Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan have also reportedly pulled off the match.

Shahid Afridi reacts

Pakistani veteran Shahid Afridi reacted to the decision taken by Indian cricketers and said cricket should be kept away from politics.

“We are here to play cricket and I’ve always said that cricket should be kept away from politics; it should move forward. A player should be a good ambassador, not a source of embarrassment for their country," Afridi was quoted as saying by News 18.

“We’ve come here to play cricket. If India didn’t want to play against Pakistan, they should’ve refused before coming here. But now you’ve arrived, even held practice sessions and then suddenly changed everything in a single day," Afridi added.