Pakistan angry over India's withdrawal from semi-final, will never play this tournament again
The PCB said that during the 79th Board of Governors (BOG) meeting held virtually under the chairmanship of Mohsin Naqvi, serious disappointment was expressed over the behavior of the WCL. The PCB said that giving points to the team that deliberately withdrew from the match and the press release regarding the cancellation of the Legends match between India and Pakistan were both biased and full of hypocrisy.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it will completely ban participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) in the future. According to Pakistan's cricket governing body, the statements and actions of the WCL clearly showed bias and duplicity after India Legends decided to withdraw from the semi-final match against Pakistan.
The PCB stated that during the 79th Board of Governors (BOG) meeting, held virtually and chaired by Mohsin Naqvi, serious disappointment was expressed over the behavior of the WCL. The PCB added that both the awarding of points to the team that deliberately withdrew from the match and the press release regarding the cancellation of the Legends match between India and Pakistan were biased and hypocritical.
The PCB said, "The selective manner in which 'peace through sports' has been talked about in the press release shows double standards. It also makes it clear that sports events have been made subordinate to political self-interest and limited commercial interests."
The statement further said, "In light of this unfortunate development, which highlights the clear and unacceptable influence of external pressures and the disregard for fair play principles, the Pakistan Cricket Board is forced to take a firm stand. The PCB can no longer allow participation in a tournament where fundamental principles like fair play and independent operation are compromised by external interference."
Many Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, had refused to play against Pakistan in the league stage of the tournament. Afterward, the two teams were scheduled to face each other again in the semi-finals, but the Indian team decided to withdraw from the match.
Sumaier Ahmed Syed, Salman Naseer, Zaheer Abbas, Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Sajjad Ali Khokhar, Zafarullah Jadgal, Tanveer Ahmed, Tariq Sarwar, Muhammad Ismail Qureshi, Anwar Ahmed Khan, Adnan Malik, Usman Wahala (special invitee), and Mir Hassan Naqvi (additional secretary) attended the PCB's virtual BOG meeting.
