Cricket Rift Deepens: PCB Slams “Hypocrisy” with Blanket Ban on World Championship of Legends

Pakistan Cricket Board Expresses “Considerable Disappointment” Over Canceled India-Pakistan Matches, Citing “Political Expediency” and “Bias” in the Wake of Recent Tensions.

August 3, 2025: Pakistan has made a bold move in the long-running rivalry in the world of cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said that no one will be able to play in any future World Championship of Legends (WCL) competitions. This big decision comes after a number of controversial events at the just finished WCL. For example, India pulled out of matches against Pakistan, supposedly because of increasing patriotic feelings.

The stress has been building up. At first, India was supposed to play its biggest adversary, Pakistan, in the group stage of the WCL. But the organizers had to cancel the highly anticipated event after a huge wave of anger on social media. Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, two important Indian players, had already dropped out of the game, so it seemed like the organizers had no alternative but to call it off.

There was more drama to come. India was then supposed to play Pakistan again in the semifinals. But the Indian team pulled out again, only one day before the important match, giving Pakistan a direct spot in the final. On Saturday, Pakistan lost that last game against South Africa at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

PCB’s Strong Stance: Claims of “Bias and Hypocrisy”
On Sunday, the PCB, led by Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, sent out an official statement that was very harsh. They called out the WCL organizers for what they called “hypocrisy.” The board said they had “no choice” but to put a blanket ban in place because of the way the organizers acted.

The message, which came out after the 79th virtual BoG meeting, was very clear. “The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL),” the PCB’s statement began. It went into great length about how “very disappointed” they were with WCL’s “terrible behavior of giving points to a team that had chosen to forfeit,” and it also critically examined the substance of WCL’s press releases. The PCB said that these publications, which said that the India vs. Pakistan legends matches were canceled, were “tainted with hypocrisy and bias.”

The PCB’s statement went into further detail about its anger, saying that it saw a “duality” in WCL’s stance. They said that WCL’s story of “peace through sport” was being “selectively applied” and that sporting events were being “held hostage to political expediency and narrow commercial interests.” This is a serious indictment that suggests that outside forces, not cricketing values, made the choices.

Beyond the Boundary: The Effect of Recent Geopolitical Events
Recent, unfortunate occurrences in the world of politics are definitely behind current cricketing tensions. After the terrible Pahalgam terror incident that killed 26 tourists, calls in India for a complete break in all ties with Pakistan grew stronger. India subsequently started “Operation Sindoor,” which attacked terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). This made relations between the two countries much worse.

But the PCB didn’t believe the WCL organizers’ official explanation. They called WCL’s claim that “hurting sentiments” was “farcical,” saying it “unintentionally admits that the cancellation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on giving in to a certain nationalistic narrative.” The PCB said this was “bias, masquerading as sensitivity,” and it sent a “unacceptable message to the international sporting community.”

The PCB’s statement ended with a strong statement: “In light of this unfortunate event, which shows a clear and unacceptable pattern of outside influence and a lack of respect for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board must take a strong stand.” The PCB can no longer allow people to take part in an event where outside forces make it impossible to follow the basic rules of fair play and unbiased management.

This universal ban shows that the gap between the two countries in cricket is getting bigger, which would affect older players and events for legends. The cricket world will be very interested in how this big decision affects future relationships between countries that play cricket.