After Afridi, Salman Butt fires shots at India for refusing to play against PAK in the WCL
After Shahid Afridi, another former Pakistan cricketer, Salman Butt, has made a ruthless comment about India for refusing to play against Pakistan in the ongoing World Championship of Legends tournament. India Champions were due to begin their campaign against Pakistan Champions on Sunday. However, severe public backlash, followed by Indian players withdrawing from the clash, led to the organisers cancelling the match.
India’s decision not to play against Pakistan has left some Pakistan cricketers fuming. Former Pakistan opener Salman Butt wasn’t too pleased either and has now challenged India not to play against Pakistan in any ICC tournament. He even insisted that India must not play against Pakistan in the Olympics.
“The whole world is talking about them. What message have they sent to cricket as a whole and to the fans? What are you trying to show? What are you trying to prove? Now don’t play in the World Cup…don’t play against us in any ICC tournament. Make this a promise," Butt said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“See, we understand that everything has its own place. But now that you are interlinking, don’t play against us at any level or tournament. Not even the Olympics. When you come up against a Chinese athlete, refuse to compete in that event. Please do that. I would love to see," Butt further said.
India Champions set to play against South Africa Champions on Tuesday in WCL 2025
India Champions will play their next game against South Africa Champions in WCL 2025 on Tuesday. Yuvraj Singh has been appointed as the captain of the team, which also includes stars like Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Shikhar Dhawan, to name a few.
For the unversed, India are the defending champion of the WCL tournament. They won the maiden edition of the World Championship of Legends after beating Pakistan Champions by five wickets in the final. India restricted Pakistan to 156 for 5 in the first innings and, later, chased down the target in 19.1 overs. Ambati Rayudu top-scored with a match-winning knock of 50 off 30, while Gurkeerat Singh Mann (34) and Yusuf Pathan (30) made significant contributions to the run-chase as well.
India 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 Mann, Vinay Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Varun Aaron, Abhimanyu Mithun, Pawan Negi
