Birmingham [UK], July 30 : Indian Champions have pulled out of their World Championship of Legends (WCL) semifinal clash against Pakistan Champions, due to tense political relations between both nations, as a result, Pakistan Champions have advanced to the final of WCL, according to a statement from WCL.
This ends India's journey in the six-team tournament at fourth place, with a win, a no-result and three losses. The semifinal was originally scheduled for Thursday, but now, the Pakistan Champions will advance to the finals, facing off against either the Australia Champions or the South Africa Champions, who are playing the second semifinal.
"At WCL, we have always believed in the power of sport to inspire and bring about positive change in the world. However, public sentiment must always be respected after all, everything we do is for our audience. We respect the India Champions' decision to withdraw from the semi-finals, and we equally respect the Pakistan Champions' readiness to compete. Taking all factors into consideration, the match between the India Champions and the Pakistan Champions has been called off. As a result, Pakistan Champions will advance to the final," A statement from WCL stated.
Notably, the Indian Champions side, consisting of stars like Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, etc, had earlier also refused to play their group stage match against Pakistan Champions on July 20.
While both teams had shared the points after India's refusal to play, Pakistan Champions will now progress to the finals because of their top place finish, with four wins and nine points.
Sporting relations between both nations have once again deteriorated due to a terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir earlier in April this year, which was followed by an 'Operation Sindoor' by the Indian Armed Forces in retaliation for the attack.
However, things, at least for now, look normal in international cricket, with both teams set to face each other in the Asia Cup in the UAE on September 14, while the Indian women's team will be playing their ICC Women's World Cup clash against the arch-rivals on October 6 in Colombo.
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