Birmingham, UK: The India Champions team has withdrawn from their World Championship of Legends (WCL) semi-final match against Pakistan Champions due to strained political relations between the two countries. The match was scheduled for Thursday in Birmingham, resulting in Pakistan Champions automatically advancing to the final. They will now face the winner of the second semi-final between Australia Champions and South Africa Champions.

This is not the first instance of India Champions refusing to play their rivals in this tournament. They had previously declined to play their group stage match against Pakistan Champions on July 20. While both teams shared points for that group stage encounter, Pakistan Champions ultimately progressed to the final directly because India Champions, who finished fourth in the group with three points, refused to participate in the semi-final. Pakistan had topped the group with nine points.

Deteriorating Sporting Relations Amidst Political Tensions

Sporting ties between India and Pakistan have worsened following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, in April this year, and the subsequent military skirmish between the two nations.

Despite the current tensions, the international men’s teams of India and Pakistan are still slated to face each other in the Asia Cup in the UAE on September 14. Furthermore, their women’s teams are scheduled for an ODI World Cup match in Colombo on October 6.

The India Champions squad in the WCL includes notable former players such as Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, and Robin Uthappa.