The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced a blanket ban on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL), citing “hypocrisy and bias” in the context of Indian players being awarded points despite willfully forfeiting a match with the Pakistani team.
Political tensions between the two nations over the years have cast a shadow over bilateral sporting events, causing major tournaments to hang in the balance. The countries’ teams have previously refused to travel across the border for sporting events, electing to play on neutral ground via a hybrid model instead.
The Pakistani veterans team advanced into the WCL final on Wednesday after Indian players forfeited the semi-final scheduled for Thursday.
PCB issued a statement on Sunday announcing the blanket ban after chairman Mohsin Naqvi “reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL’s appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and 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”.
WCL’s statement from July 30 said that while it has “always believed in the power of sport to inspire and bring about positive change in the world (…) public sentiment must always be respected — after all, everything we do is for our audience.
“We respect the India Champions’ decision to withdraw from the semi-finals, and we equally respect the Pakistan Champions’ readiness to compete,” the statement said.
PCB continued in its statement, saying the contents of WCL’s press release “highlight a duality where the narrative of ‘peace through sport’ is selectively applied and sporting events are held hostage to political expediency and narrow commercial interests”.
“The PCB has always advocated for the separation of sports and politics.
“Our unwavering belief is that cricket, like other international sports, should solely serve as a platform for goodwill, healthy competition, and mutual respect,” it said.
“For a tournament involving legendary players to be dictated by sentiments that undermine this fundamental principle is not only regrettable but also deeply concerning for the future of independent sporting events,” the national governing body continued.
“The WCL’s apology for ‘hurting the sentiments’, whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancellation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative.
“This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community,” PCB’s statement read.
“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.
“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,” it said.
The cricketing body added that it remains committed to promoting cricket globally and fostering healthy sporting rivalries.
“However, we cannot allow our players to be part of events where the spirit of the game is overshadowed by skewed politics that undermines the very essence of sportsmanship and the gentleman’s game.”
The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and was held in Birmingham, England.
