PCB bans Pakistan from taking part in future WCL tournaments following India's decision to not play against them

PCB termed WCL organisers as biased and hypocritical in an official statement.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has imposed a blanket ban on Pakistan’s participation in World Championship of Legends (WCL) tournaments in future, accusing the tournament organisers of being biased. This comes after India withdrew from two games against Pakistan during the tournament.

India Champions, led by Yuvraj Singh, were scheduled to play against Pakistan Champions on July 20 during the league stage and the semi-final on July 31. However, Indian players denied playing against Pakistan due to the ongoing political tensions between the two countries.

Players like Yuvraj Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, and Irfan Pathan, among others, pulled out of both matches. Hence, both games were cancelled by the tournament organisers. They also issued apologies to Indian cricket fans after the cancellation of the first game on July 20 for hurting religious sentiments.

PCB issues official statement on blanket ban on WCL

PCB issued an official statement on banning Pakistan players from participating in WCL tournaments in future. The decision was taken during PCB’s 79th board of Governors meeting, chaired by Mohsin Naqvi, as reported by IANS.

PCB termed WCL’s decision to award points to India in the group stage after they pulled out of the match as biased. They also expressed disappointment over the contents of press releases issued by WCL organisers after the cancellation of the India vs Pakistan game.

“The PCB, during its 79th BoG meeting held virtually under the chairmanship of Mohsin Naqvi reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL’s appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team,” read the official statement from PCB.

“The content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancellation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches, which were tainted with hypocrisy and bias,” the statement further said.

PCB also termed the tournament organisers as unfair and biased and said that they will not participate in future tournaments.

“In light of this unfortunate development, which underscores a clear and intolerable pattern of external influence and a disregard for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board is compelled to take a firm stance”, PCB said in the statement.

“The PCB can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures,” they further added.

Meanwhile, South Africa Champions won the WCL 2025 title after defeating Pakistan Champions in the final. Pakistan piled up a mammoth total of 195/5 in the first innings with a half-century by Sharjeel Khan.

However, AB de Villiers slammed an unbeaten century while JP Duminy scored a fifty to drive South Africa to a huge victory by nine wickets. Pakistan Champions qualified for the final after India Champions pulled out of the semi-final encounter.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.