Tag: India Champions

BIRMINGHAM: The highly anticipated India vs. Pakistan Champions fixture at the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 has officially been called off, just hours before the two sides were set to meet at Edgbaston on Sunday.

The organisers made the announcement through a statement posted on the tournament’s official social media platforms, confirming the cancellation of what was expected to be a marquee clash.

“We at WCL have always cherished and loved cricket, and our only aim has been to give fans some good, happy moments,” the statement read.

“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.

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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 vs 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 development comes amid growing tension surrounding the fixture. Indian media reports earlier claimed that five prominent Indian cricketers had raised objections to former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s inclusion in the tournament, threatening to withdraw from the match if he was part of the squad or even entered the stadium.

According to reports, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, and Shikhar Dhawan conveyed their concerns to the organisers. Harbhajan and Yusuf are said to have already pulled out, while Dhawan reportedly confirmed his withdrawal through a post on his Instagram story.

READ: South Africa edge West Indies in bowl-out to kick off WCL 2025

India Champions have named their squad for the upcoming edition of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) season 2, scheduled to take place from July 18 to August 2, 2025, in England.

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh will lead the 16-member defending champions squad, featuring star players such as Shikhar Dhawan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Harbhajan Singh.

The pace attack will be spearheaded by Varun Aaron, Siddharth Kaul, and Vinay Kumar.

 

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India Champions, the winners of the inaugural edition,will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on July 20. They will then face the champions of England on July 27, followed by a match against the champions of the West Indies in their final league-stage game on July 29.

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For the unversed, the WCL 2025 will be contested across four English venues: Edgbaston (Birmingham), County Ground (Northampton), Grace Road (Leicester), and Headingley (Leeds).

Six teams, India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies, will face off in a round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals.

The upcoming edition marks the second instalment of the WCL, following the inaugural tournament held in 2024, where the Indian team, led by the legendary Yuvraj Singh, emerged as champions.

India Champions squad for WCL 2025:

Yuvraj Singh (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Stuart Binny, Gurkeerat Maan, Vinay Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Varun Aaron, Abhimanyu Mithun, and Pawan Negi.

READ: Pakistan to lock horns with India on THIS date in Asia Cup 2025: reports

BIRMINGHAM: Ambati Rayudu’s half-century after Anureet Singh’s three-for led India Champions to beat Pakistan Champions by five wickets and win the World Championship of Legends here at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Set to chase 157, India Champions knocked the winning runs on the first delivery of the final over when Irfan Pathan hit Sohail Tanvir for a four.

Leading the charge in the run chase for India Champions was opening batter Ambadi Rayudu with a brisk half-century.

Rayudu hit five fours and two sixes on his way to a 30-ball 50 which culminated in the 12th over.

Gurkeerat Singh Mann played an anchoring role with a 33-ball 34 while Yusuf Pathan provided final touches with a quickfire 30.

Pathan conceded only 16 balls and conceded one four and three sixes.

India Champions captain Yuvraj Singh remained unbeaten with a 22-ball 15.

Aamer Yamin bagged two wickets for Pakistan Champions while Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Younis Khan’s decision to bat first after winning the coin toss did not bear fruits for the Pakistan Champions as they put a par total on the board.

Pakistan Champions had a shaky start to their innings as their in-form hard-hitting opener Sharjeel Khan (12) fell victim to Anureet Singh in the second over with just 14 runs on the board.

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Sohaib Maqsood then joined Kamran Akmal in the middle for a briefly anchoring partnership as the duo could raise 29 runs for the second wicket.

Maqsood, who tried to counterattack the India Champions bowlers fell prey to Vinay Kumar in the fifth over after scoring a quick 21 off 12.

Pakistan Champions then lost two more wickets in quick succession — Kamran Akmal (24) and Younis Khan (7) — and consequently slipped to 79/4 in 11.3 overs.

Shoaib Malik, the leading run-scorer of the World Championship of Legends, took the reigns of Pakistan Champions batting expedition against India Champions and kept the scoreboard ticking with an anchoring knock.

Malik put together brief partnerships with Misbah-ul-Haq (18) and Aamer Yamin (7) before walking back to the dugout on the last delivery of the 18th over.

He remained the top-scorer for Pakistan Champions with a gutsy 41 off 36 deliveries, laced up with three sixes.

Later, Sohail Tanvir’s short cameo took Pakistan Champions’ total past the 150-run mark.

The all-rounder made an unbeaten 19 off nine while Shahid Afridi made a run-a-ball four and returned not out.

Anureet Singh was the star with the ball for India Champions while Vinay Kumar, Pawan Negi and Irfan Pathan chipped in with a wicket apiece.

READ: India humble Zimbabwe to take unassailable lead in T20I series

NORTHAMPTON: A combined batting and bowling effort led India Champions to crush Australia Champions by 86 runs and set up the World Championship of Legends final with Pakistan Champions.

Chasing a mammoth target of 255, Australia Champions were in all sorts of trouble as they lost Shaun Marsh in the second over of their inning at County Ground, Northampton.

Ben Dunk then joined Aaron Finch in the middle, however, they could not keep up with the required run rate as Dunk was dismissed after scoring just 10 off seven deliveries.

Finch also failed to contribute to the chase and was cleaned bowled by Pawan Negi on 16 off 17 deliveries.

Callum Ferguson added 23 off 19 balls while Nathan Coulter-Nile scored 30 off 13 deliveries.

Tim Paine remained unbeaten with a 32-ball 40.

Australia Champions were restricted to 168/7 as India sailed through to the WCL 2024 final against Pakistan Champions.

After being put to bat first, India Champions posted a total of 254/6 in their 20 overs as four of their batters smashed fifties.

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Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan launched an onslaught on the Australia Champions bowlers as the former smashed a 19-ball fifty while Yusuf hit a fiery knock of 51 on just 23 deliveries.

Opening batter Robin Uthappa set the stage with his 65 off 35 deliveries after losing his batting partner Ambati Rayudu on 32 in 3.1 overs.

Suresh Raina was quick to follow him as he was dismissed for just five runs, leading to Yuvraj Singh’s arrival at the crease.

Singh scored 59 off 28 balls before Peter Siddle disturbed his timber.

It was then Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan show who both smashed fiery fifties to power India to 254 for six in their 20 overs.

For Australia Champions, Peter Siddle was the pick of the bowlers, as he bagged four scalps.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan Champions advanced to the final of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2024 after beating West Indies Champions by 20 runs earlier today.

READ: Salman Butt names ideal candidate for Pakistan’s all-format captaincy