India vs Pakistan: A big controversy has arisen before the match between India and Pakistan in World Championship of Legends (WCL) Season-3. The Pakistan champions have withdrawn their name from the tournament. The reason behind the team’s exit is being attributed to some conditions imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the NOC.
According to sources, the issuance of the NOC by the PCB was conditional on the alleged written apology from the Indian players regarding the controversy that arose during the India-Pakistan match last year. Apart from this, this time a condition was also kept that the players of India and Pakistan should shake hands with each other during the match.
PCB terms rejected by WCL organizers?
Pakistan champions required NOC from PCB to play in WCL. Sources said the PCB was ready to grant the NOC, but with some conditions.
Among the most important of these were a written apology from the Indian players regarding last year’s controversy and a handshake between the India-Pakistan players.
The WCL management is said to have refused to accept all the terms of the PCB. The organizers accepted some conditions related to the tournament and business, but did not accept the condition of apology and handshake from the Indian team. The Pakistan champions then decided to withdraw from the tournament.
What happened last year?
After the Pahalgam terror attack last year, there was a big controversy regarding cricket relations between India and Pakistan. Indian team refused to play against Pakistan in WCL.
The group stage match was not held and then the Indian team did not enter the field to play against Pakistan even in the semi-final. As a result, Pakistan got a walkover and made it to the final.
However, Pakistan lost to South Africa in the final. At that time, the issue of handshake between the players of both the teams was also discussed.
The India-Pak match was to be played on October 10
As per the opening schedule of WCL Season-3, the match between India and Pakistan was scheduled to be held on October 10. But this high-voltage encounter will no longer be played due to Pakistan’s exit from the tournament of champions.
WCL has confirmed the exit of Pakistan Champions from Season-3 in an official statement. According to the organizers, the Pakistan team will not participate in the tournament due to unforeseen circumstances and the competition will now proceed with six teams.
What did the Pakistani champions say?
The Pakistan Champions’ official statement did not mention the PCB’s alleged apology and the terms of the handshake.
The team said it will not be able to participate in the WCL without the requisite NOC being issued by the PCB. The team has also said to respect PCB’s right and its decision.
Shahid Afridi also did not reach UAE
Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi was to captain the Pakistan champions. However, he was not present in the UAE during the team’s opening match against Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s match against Australia was also scheduled to be played on Monday, but that match was also cancelled.
Pakistan team reached the final twice
The Pakistan champions had made it to the finals in both the previous editions of the WCL. Both times the team had to settle for being runners-up.
This time too Pakistan had a chance to win the title, but due to the NOC dispute, the team has now been eliminated from the entire tournament.
The impact of the Indo-Pak cricket dispute was seen again
The whole incident has once again made it clear that the impact of last year’s controversy on cricketing relations between India and Pakistan is still lingering. The PCB’s alleged apology and handshake terms and the WCL organizers’ refusal to do so ultimately led to Pakistan’s exit from the Champions League tournament.
As a result, the India-Pakistan legends match scheduled to be held on October 10 will not be played and the cricket fans eager to watch this high-voltage encounter have suffered a major setback.