ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced it was issuing a “blanket ban” on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) league, accusing it of being biased in favor of India.
The WCL is a T20 tournament held in England every year. It features retired and non-contracted players from cricketing giants, including England, India, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and South Africa. It is co-owned by Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn and Harshit Tomar.
The tournament became controversial when India refused to play Pakistan in the league stage of the match, and the WCL decided both teams would share the points. India again refused to play Pakistan in the semifinal stage of the tournament, with the Green Shirts advancing on to the final on Sunday.
Several Indian players announced they would not take part in matches against Pakistan after the two nations engaged in the worst fighting in decades with each other in May. The WCL had said it respected India’s decision to withdraw and Pakistan’s willingness to compete.
“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 said in a press release following its 79th meeting of the Board of Governors.
The PCB said it reviewed “with considerable disappointment” the WCL’s conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancelation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches.
It said the press releases were “tainted with hypocrisy and bias.”
“The contents of the said press releases highlight a duality where the narrative of ‘peace through sport’ is selectively applied and sporting events are held hostage to political expediency and narrow commercial interests,” the cricket board added.
The PCB said it has always advocated for the separation of sports and politics, adding that it believes cricket, like other international sports, should solely serve as a platform for goodwill, healthy competition, and mutual respect.
“For a tournament involving legendary players to be dictated by sentiments that undermine this fundamental principle is not only regrettable but also deeply concerning for the future of independent sporting events,” it added.
“The WCL’s apology for ‘hurting the sentiments’, whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancelation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative,” it added.
“This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community.”
The PCB said it can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and “unbiased administration” are compromised by external pressures.
“We cannot allow our players to be part of events where the spirit of the game is overshadowed by skewed politics that undermines the very essence of sportsmanship and the gentleman’s game,” it added.
Pakistan were beaten by South Africa in the final of the WCL on Sunday when the Proteas trounced the South Asian giants by nine wickets to claim the tournament.
