Rauf said that players roam and shop together, but they won’t play against each other, calling the World Championship of Legends boycott a showoff for the public.
The India-Pakistan match at the World Championship of Legends (WCL) was called off after a few top India players refused to play against Pakistan. The India-Pakistan ties are at an all-time low, and there are calls to boycott Pakistan at global events. It’s still not confirmed if India will play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup; thus, the WCL clash between the arch-rivals came as a surprise.
However, on the eve of the match, Shikhar Dhawan confirmed that he will not share the field with Pakistan cricketers. Reportedly, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan and Suresh Raina also pulled out of the match, forcing the organisers to call off the match.
Former Pakistan cricketer Abdur Rauf Khan didn’t mince words and slammed the India players for the cancellation of the WCL match . He claimed that their decision was just a show-off and questioned the disparities in their on-field and off-field stance.
“Public ke saamne yeh dikhate ho ki hum nahi khelenge, aur saath mein ghumoge and shopping karoge, yeh unfair hai. (They hang around together, eat together, party together — then when it comes to playing a match, why do they portray a different picture in front of the public? He told Times Of India.
“It’s not just Pakistani players — even Indian players feel it. We’ve played together, shared dressing rooms, eaten together, gone shopping on tours, stayed in each other’s hotel rooms — we’re friends off the field. To then portray such a hard divide to the public — like ‘we won’t play them’ — that creates unnecessary hype),” Abdur told the Times of India.
