Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria has criticised Indian players for boycotting the World Championship of Legends (WCL) match with Pakistan after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday confirmed that the Asia Cup 2025 will take place in the UAE from September 9 to 28, resulting in an India vs Pakistan clash at the upcoming event.
Kaneria called out Indian players and told them to “stop using patriotism when it suits”. He took to X and wrote, “Indian players boycotted WCL and called it national duty. But now Asia Cup vs Pakistan is just fine? If cricket with Pakistan is okay, then WCL should’ve been too. Stop using patriotism when it suits you. Let sport be sport — not propaganda.”
Indian players boycotted WCL and called it national duty. But now Asia Cup vs Pakistan is just fine? If cricket with Pakistan is okay, then WCL should’ve been too. Stop using patriotism when it suits you. Let sport be sport — not propaganda.
— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) July 26, 2025
With only seven months left until the next T20 World Cup iteration to be played in India and Sri Lanka, the continental tournament will return to the T20 format. The previous edition of the Asia Cup was played in the ODI format on the road to the 2023 Cricket World Cup, where India demolished hosts Sri Lanka to lift the title.
Earlier, the India Champions vs Pakistan Champions match was cancelled by the organisers after several India Champions stars called for a boycott of their opening contest in the tournament. Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan announced his decision not to feature in the match in Birmingham late on Saturday through social media, owing to the geopolitical conflicts that have arisen post the Pahalgam terror attacks in April this year.
Later, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also took a jibe at former Indian cricketers after many of them decided to opt out of the India vs Pakistan Champions clash. India stars Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, and Yusuf Pathan had also pulled out of the Pakistan match.
