WCL 2025: 'No need to drag politics into sports' - Minister Athawale condemns cancellation of IND-PAK clash

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, did not feel that the World Championship of Legends 2025 clash between India Champions and Pakistan Champions should have been cancelled, originally slated to be held on Sunday, July 20.

Athawale's remarks came after a few Indian cricketers expressed their unwillingness to participate due to the recent terrorist attacks on Pahalgam. The minister further told that the public need not interfere or get into specifics of geopolitical debates and connect them to cricket or any other sport for that matter.

“There is no need to drag politics into sports. If the match was in India, the concern would be more serious. But this one was in England. We have defeated Pakistan in war and on the cricket field as well. The Opposition should not politicize it. India vs Pakistan match was scheduled to be held in England. Terrorists indeed attacked Pahalgam, and after that, the terrorist camps were neutralized. But the matter of the match is different,” stated Athawale, as quoted by The Times of India.

Previously, the WCL committee had issued an official statement confirming the cancellation of the contest. In the press release, they issued a sincere apology for hurting the sentiments of players and the public. The organizers also remarked that the idea had come after a friendly volleyball game between the two arch-rivals. However, the cricket match had to be cancelled following an unsatisfactory response.

The game had to be called off after several players from the Indian camp of the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan, and Suresh Raina reportedly backed out of participating which made their stance amply clear to the public. The rest of the tournament, will proceed as planned, although, it remains to be seen what happens if both the teams make it to the grand finale.

Interestingly, this wasn't the first time Athawale's statements have made a buzz with his statements in the cricketing fraternity. Earlier, he had stirred a widespread debate by demanding a caste-based reservation in cricket and other sports. His reasoning for the same was that these marginalized communities had been sidelined from the sporting arena since a long time. He got heavily criticized for the same, since selection in sports is merit-based.

India Champions will next play South Africa Champions on Tuesday, July 22, at County Ground in Northampton. The Proteas won their first game of the tournament via a bowl-out against the West Indians after the 11-overs-a-side ended in a tie as per the DLS method.