Shahid Afridi finally breaks silence after India pull out of Pakistan game in WCL 2025, says 'If I had known...'

After the cancellation of the India vs Pakistan match in the ongoing World Championship of Legends, the debate around sports vs politics has been triggered again. Former Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan also specifically said no to playing against Pakistan in WCL 2025, which made the organisers to call off the game. Now, the former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who is also a part of WCL squad of his country, has come forward and broken his silence over the match cancellation.

Shahid Afridi breaks silence over IND vs PAK match cancellation

Speaking to reporters after the match was cancelled, Afridi said, ''We are here to play cricket, and I've always said that cricket should be kept away from politics - it should move forward. A player should be a good ambassador, not a source of embarrassment for their country. We've come here to play cricket. If [India] didn't want to play against Pakistan, they should've refused before coming here. But now you've arrived, even held practice sessions, and then suddenly changed everything in a single day.''

Afridi also reportedly called Shikhar Dhawan a 'bad egg' and added, ''Sports bring people closer, but if politics gets involved in everything, how will we move forward? Until we sit together and discuss issues, nothing will improve - lack of communication only makes things worse. We've come here to play cricket, to have one-on-one interactions and friendly conversations. But sometimes, there's one rotten egg that spoils everything for everyone else.''

If there hadn’t been a social media backlash,
Remember, my friend, this match would still be happening.
I would like to request you all for
The same old Facebook trend on
X each repost equals a slap for Shahid Afridi.
Secondly, Shahid Afridi said something in this… pic.twitter.com/MErWmMUtOk

— Akash Srivastava (@isrivastavas) July 21, 2025

Calling the game of cricket above all, Afridi further said, ''If I had known the match was being stopped because of me, I wouldn't have even gone to the ground. But cricket should go on. What is Shahid Afridi in front of cricket? Nothing. The game comes first. As a sport, cricket is the biggest thing. Bringing politics into it or an Indian cricketer saying he won't play against Pakistan - then don't play, just sit out. But sports is bigger, cricket is bigger, and it's bigger than Shahid Afridi too.''

Meanwhile, it is still not clear whether India will play Pakistan, if both teams qualify and reach the semi-finals round, or even in the finals.