India Champions have pulled out of Thursday’s World Championship of Legends semi-final against Pakistan Champions in Birmingham, citing the continuing political tension between the two nations. The decision hands Pakistan a direct route to Sunday’s final, where they will meet the winner of Australia Champions v South Africa Champions.
This is the second time in the tournament that the Indian line-up – featuring Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa – have refused to take the field against their old rivals. The first, a group-stage fixture on 20 July, was ruled a no-result and the sides shared the points.
Pakistan still topped the group, finishing with nine points and a superior net run-rate. India scraped into the last four in fourth place on three points, but their latest withdrawal leaves the knockout bracket lopsided and tournament organisers scrambling to adjust logistics.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained since an April terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, and the brief military confrontation that followed. No senior bilateral cricket has been played since, though both men’s national teams are scheduled to meet in the Asia Cup in the UAE on 14 September; the women are due to clash in the ODI World Cup in Colombo on 6 October.
While administrators insist the Legends event was designed as a nostalgic exhibition rather than a political football, the withdrawal highlights how off-field issues continue to shape the fixture list.
