India-Pakistan match called off in legends league

A match scheduled between India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) in Birmingham, a tournament for retired cricketers, set to take place today has been called off by the organisers after opposition from the Indian side.

Several members of the Indian team, including former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, had reportedly refused to take part in the match, citing the geo-political tension between the countries following the Pahalgram terror attack.

The organisers then issued a statement, calling off the match and apologising for 'hurting sentiments'.

"After hearing the news that the Pakistan hockey team will be coming to India this year, and seeing the recent India vs Pakistan volleyball match along with a few other fixtures between the two nations in different sports, we thought of continuing with the India vs Pakistan match at WCL, just to create some happy memories for people around the globe.

"But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions," the statement read.

"Hence, we have decided to call off the India-Pakistan match. We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans," it concluded.

Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the Indian side, which also features the likes of Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron among others.

The Pakistan side is led by Mohammad Hafeez, and includes the likes of T Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal among a host of yesteryear players.

It remains to be seen what would happen if India and Pakistan set up a knockout clash in the six-team tournament. Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies are the other four teams.

The second edition of the WCL started on July 18 in Birmingham and has seen three matches played.