August 3, 2025: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a blanket ban on future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL), citing “hypocrisy and bias” in the tournament’s management. The decision was made following a virtual Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, chaired by Mohsin Naqvi.
The ban is a direct result of the WCL’s handling of the controversy surrounding the India Legends team, which forfeited both a league-stage match and a semi-final against Pakistan. In an official statement, the PCB expressed its disappointment with the WCL for “awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team” and criticized the tournament’s press releases as being “tainted with hypocrisy and bias.”
The PCB’s statement further argued that the WCL’s narrative of “peace through sport” was “selectively applied” and that the event was being held “hostage to political expediency.” The board stated it can no longer condone participation in an event where “the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures.”
The India Legends team, which included players like Shikhar Dhawan, had voiced its refusal to play against Pakistan, leading to the semi-final forfeit. While the move allowed Pakistan to advance to the final, the PCB has taken a firm stance against the handling of the incident.