Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi lambasted Indian players after pulling just a day ahead of their clash against the arch-rivals in the ongoing World Champions League (WCL 2025) tournament on Sunday, July 20. Fans were waiting with bated breath to see the two Asian countries battle it out. However, the Indian Team withdrew from playing the game in England, breaking the hearts of millions of fans across the globe.
Afridi stated politics and cricket should not be mixed, as that often causes chaos and takes away the intrigue regarding India-Pakistan matches.
"We are here to play cricket, and I have always said that cricket should be kept away from politics - it should move forward. A player should be a good ambassador, not a source of embarrassment for their country," Afridi told reporters.
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The second edition of WCL, which is co-owned by Bollywood Actor Ajay Devgn, started on June 18 at Edgbaston and is scheduled to end with the final on August 2. India's team is led by all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, which also sees the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf, and Suresh Raina in action. On the other hand, Pakistan are being captained by Mohammad Hafeez, which sees Younis Khan, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, and Asif in action.
"We have come here to cricket. If India didn't want to play against Pakistan, they should have refused before coming here. But now you have arrived, even held practice sessions, and then suddenly changed everything in a single day," Afridi added.
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Meanwhile, opening batter Shikhar Dhawan gave his statement on X, stating his stance on being with Indians from May 11, is still the same. The southpaw also said nothing is more important than India.
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"This is to formally reiterate and confirm that Mr. Shikhar Dhawan will not be participating in any matches against the Pakistan team in the upcoming WCL League. This decision was communicated earlier during our discussion call and WhatsApp date 11th May 2025," read the statement.
The opener said that he has taken this decision given the current 'geopolitical' situation between the two Asian teams in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, which killed 26 innocent lives, and further ensuing Operation Sindoor carried out by India. Afridi, without taking any names, slammed one cricketer and called him a 'bad egg.'
"Sports bring people closer, but if politics gets involved in everything, how will we move forward? Until we sit together and discuss issues, nothing will improve - lack of communication only makes things worse," he said.
"We have come here to play cricket, to have one-on-one interactions and friendly conversations. But sometimes, there's one bad egg that spoils everything for everyone else."
Apart from Dhawan, even Harbhajan, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, Yusuf Pathan, who is also a member of Parliament, and Irfan also conveyed their wishes not to play against Pakistan, although the trio have not issued formal statements.
