Here’s The Truth Behind Ajay Devgn Meeting With Shahid Afridi

July 21, 2025: After pictures of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn chatting with former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi went viral, he became the focus of online criticism. This public outcry follows the cancellation of the much-anticipated World Championship of Legends (WCL) match between India and Pakistan owing to increased cross-border tensions just two days prior.

Devgn is a co-owner of the World Championship of Legends, the England and Wales Cricket Board tournament that commenced on July 18 at Edgbaston in Birmingham and is set to conclude on August 2. The India Champions team, captained by World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh, features prominent players like Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, and Varun Aaron.

While the India-Pakistan game was ultimately cancelled due to the refusal of several Indian cricketers to play amidst recent geopolitical events, netizens swiftly expressed their anger at Devgn for his apparent meeting with Afridi on the tournament’s sidelines.

Social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), saw a surge of critical comments. One user tweeted, “Ajay Devgn is indeed a real actor 🤡,” while another asserted, “This man’s career should be burned to ash today if there’s even an ounce of dignity left in the people of India.”

However, it has emerged that the viral images are not from the current 2025 edition of the World Championship of Legends. Ajay Devgn did indeed meet and chat with Shahid Afridi, but this interaction took place in 2024 during the inaugural edition of the tournament.⁵ Devgn had flown to Edgbaston to closely watch the inaugural WCL.

The WCL organizers had issued a statement on their X account on Saturday, July 20, detailing the decision to cancel the India-Pakistan fixture.⁶ They emphasized that their intention behind scheduling the game was to “recreate some happy memories” between the two nations.