Former India batter Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday revealed that he had informed the World Championship of Legends organisers of his decision not to play in the match against Pakistan Champions well in advance, before the match was officially called off in the early hours of Sunday.
Dhawan was the first player to publicly acknowledge his decision to withdraw from the match after reports had emerged that his teammates Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan had also pulled out of India Champions’ scheduled contest in Edgbaston due to public backlash. The outrage on social media was sparked due to the growing tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgram terrorist attack in April this year, which killed 26 tourists.
Sharing a screenshot of a mail sent to the WCL tournament organisers, Dhawan clarified that he had intended to boycott the opening match against Pakistan two amonths ago on May 11.
“Jo kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh se badhkar kuch nahi hota. (I stand by the decision that was taken on May 11. My country means everything to me and nothing is greater than my country.”wrote Dhawan on an X post along with the screenshot of the mail.
“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 on call and WhatsApp dated 11th May 2025,” read Dhawan’s mail.
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“In view of the current geopolitical situation and prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan, Mr Dhawan and his team have taken this position after due consideration. We respectfully request the league’s understanding and cooperation on this matter,” the statement read further.
Jo kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh se badhkar kuch nahi hota.
Jai Hind! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gLCwEXcrnR
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 19, 2025
The WCL organisers issued an apology for hurting the sentiments of the Indian cricketers while trying to facilitate the match.
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“After hearing the news that the Pakistan hockey team will be coming to India this year, and seeing the recent India vs Pakistan volleyball match along with a few other fixtures between the two nations in different sports, we thought of continuing with the India vs Pakistan match at WCL, just to create some happy memories for people around the globe.
But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions.
“More than that, we unintentionally caused discomfort to our Indian Cricket Legends, who have brought so much glory to the country, and we ended up affecting the brands who supported us purely out of love for the game. Hence, we have decided to call off the India-Pakistan match. We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans,” the WCL statement read.
Dhawan, who announced his retirement in August 2024, was not a part of the inaugural edition of the tournament, recognised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), that the India Champions had won beating Pakistan by five wickets in the final.
