India-Pakistan WCL issue: PCB imposes 'blanket ban' on future Pakistan participation in league; calls organizers 'biased and lacking sporting integrity'
The recently concluded World Championship of Legends (WCL) season was a nearly fruitful one for Pakistan as they made it to the final before being thumped by AB de Villiers's South Africa at Edgbaston on Saturday (August 2). A day later, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) boss Mohsin Naqvi has come out with a fiery statement, announcing a 'blanket ban' on the future participation of his players in the WCL.
Naqvi's decision comes due to his visible anger with the WCL organizers, who he felt were extremely 'biased and lacking in sporting integrity' while holding the tournament. The PCB boss's argument is largely due to the abandoned India-Pakistan league match which had to be called-off after several Indian players refused to take the field against their arch-rivals owing to political reasons. India-Pakistan political relations have always been strained but it has gone to another level since the Pahalgam attack in April 2025.
As a result, India's players showed their disinterest in playing Pakistan but what has upset Naqvi is that points were split between the two teams instead of awarding full points to Pakistan, as is the norm in such cases. Later, India also made it to the semifinal where they were to face Pakistan again, but once more, the match was called off. Pakistan were duly awarded the game that time and they qualified for the final. However, the league match fiasco didn't sit well with Naqvi and the PCB.
"The PCB reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL's appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancellation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches, which were tainted with hypocrisy and bias." said Naqvi as quoted by the PTI.
"The cancellation was not based on cricketing merit but on appeasing a specific nationalistic narrative. This sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community."
The WCL had issued an apology after the league game abandonment but the PCB felt that it was more of a farce than anything else. There is a strong India connection in the WCL with the owners Harshit Tomar and Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn being from India. There is also an unconfirmed news that Pakistan may not be included in future editions anyway. However, that is yet to be confirmed. What we do know is that the PCB has already taken the initiative in pulling out from the future seasons.
"In light of this unfortunate development, which underscores a clear and intolerable pattern of external influence and a disregard for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board is compelled to take a firm stance.
"The PCB can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures," it added.
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