Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 30: Putting a question mark on the India – Pakistan cricket matches in the Asia Cup tournament in September, India veteran’s team “India Champions” have declined to participate in the World Championship of Legends semi-final match against Pakistan, scheduled for Thursday, maintaining their stance of not engaging in competitive fixtures against their arch-rivals when Pakistan has refused to stop cross-border terrorism.
Players like Yuvraj Singh, who is captaining the veteran side, Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla are members of the India Champions side. India Champions advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing World Championship of Legends after defeating West Indies Champions in just 13.2 overs in their last group match on Tuesday. “Indian players have refused to play against Pakistan in the WCL semi-final scheduled for Thursday,” sources said on Wednesday.
“Retired internationals players representing India Champions have refused to play against Pakistan Champions in the semi-final of the World Championship of Legends in Birmingham,” sources said. India had taken a similar stand against Pakistan in the group-stage match also earlier in the tournament. In that game, several top former India cricketers had refused to play against Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
Earlier, the league stage game between the two nations was officially called off following strong objections from Indian players and a principal tournament sponsor. This decision was supported by public declarations from former India cricketers, including Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan, who stated they would not participate in the match.
The decision comes close on heels of the backlash that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is facing after the Asia Cup schedule was announced. India will play Pakistan in that continental event on September 14. There are chances that the two teams will face-off again on September 21 and 28, provided they advance to the next rounds. After the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year, diplomatic relationship between the two countries nose-dived. Reports said there was a chance that Asia Cup could be shelved. However, nothing of that sort happened and the BCCI agreed to host the tournament but at the neutral venue of United Arab Emirates.
The decision of the veterans to boycott the match against Pakistan was preceded by one of WCL’s main sponsors, EaseMyTrip, pulling out of the India-Pakistan WCL semi-final, reaffirming its longstanding policy of non-participation in any match involving Pakistan.
“We applaud Team India @India_Champions for their outstanding performance in the World Championship of Legends, you’ve made the nation proud. However, the upcoming semi-final against Pakistan is not just another game, Terror and cricket cannot go hand in hand. @EaseMyTrip, we stand with India. We cannot support any event that attempts to normalise relations with a country that promotes terrorism.
“The people of India have spoken and we hear them. EaseMyTrip will not be associated with the India vs Pakistan match in WCL. Some things are bigger than sport. Nation first business later, Always,” Nishant Pitti, co-founder of the travel-tech company said in a statement on Wednesday.
It has been a roller-coaster tournament for India Champions, who began with a heavy 88-run loss to South Africa Champions (via DRS method), followed by back-to-back defeats against Australia (4 wickets) and England (23 runs). Their only point before the West Indies match came from the abandoned game against Pakistan.
But the decision of the veterans may force the BCCI to re-think about participating in the Asia Cup, or at least play in the matches against Pakistan, in September. Several former players have opposed the move to engage with Pakistan on the playing arena when the relations between the two countries has touched rock-bottom.
Group A in the Asia Cup features India, Pakistan, UAE, and Oman, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong make up Group B.