Shahid Afridi attacks Indian government after India-Pakistan WCL 2025 match gets cancelled

Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has broken his silence to take a dig at several Indian players who had pulled out of yesterday's India vs Pakistan match in the ongoing World Championship of Legends.

India and Pakistan's match was scheduled to be played on the 20th of July in Birmingham in the World Championship of Legends. However, several Indian players like the skipper Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, and more decided to opt out of the match due to the current geopolitical situation between the two nations.

This led to the cancellation of the match by the WCL authorities, who also demanded an official apology for "unintentionally causing discomfort" to the Indian Legends. This is what has irked Shahid Afridi, and he has verbally bashed the Indian players in front of the media.

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Shahid Afridi's massive statement on India's withdrawal

As quoted by the Hindustan Times, the former Pakistani captain stressed the need to separate politics from cricket, as he said, "We are here to play cricket, and I've always said that cricket should be kept away from politics — it should move forward. A player should be a good ambassador, not a source of embarrassment for their country."

Shahid Afridi's complaint was not only over the fact that India cancelled the match, but also over why they made such a late decision, as the players had already held a practice session before the game.

"We've come here to play cricket. If [India] didn't want to play against Pakistan, they should've refused before coming here. But now you've arrived, even held practice sessions, and then suddenly changed everything in a single day," Afridi was heard saying.

Pakistan Champions Owner confirms WCL fixtures to remain intact

The owner of the Pakistan Champions team, Kamil Khan, has confirmed that the remaining matches of the WCL will continue as per the schedule planned, with no further changes to be made ahead.

"All the remaining matches are taking place. The tournament is going on as per schedule, and there are no changes. As for the semifinals and final, we're currently saying that if we make it to the semifinals, there will be four teams, and we will avoid matches between the two teams," he said to the media.

However, he also confirmed that the WCL authorities are likely to step in again if the two teams advance into the knockouts and have to face each other.

Shahid Afridi aims at unifying nations with cricket

Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi has called for unifying the two nations, which are now under immense political tensions, with the game of cricket.

"Sports bring people closer, but if politics gets involved in everything, how will we move forward? Until we sit together and discuss issues, nothing will improve — lack of communication only makes things worse," he said.

"We've come here to play cricket, to have one-on-one interactions and friendly conversations. But sometimes, there's one bad egg that spoils everything for everyone else."

However, some media reports claimed that Shahid Afridi's act was one of the core reasons for the Indian players pulling out of the match. This was because the 48-year-old had made a controversial remark on social media shortly after the Pahalgam attack, which kept the Indian fans fuming.

"If I had known the match was being stopped because of me, I wouldn't have even gone to the ground. But cricket should go on. What is Shahid Afridi in front of cricket? Nothing," he said.

"The game comes first. As a sport, cricket is the biggest thing. Bringing politics into it or an Indian cricketer saying he won't play against Pakistan — then don't play, just sit out. But sports is bigger, cricket is bigger, and it's bigger than Shahid Afridi too," he concluded.