'Even divine forces can't make RCB win': Internet flooded with memes as IPL 2025 gets suspended
— evermeck (@evermeck)
— IPL2025Auction (@IPL2025Auction)
— Charansai45 (@Charansai45)
— sangrampalival (@sangrampalival)
Live Events
— GaurangBhardwa1 (@GaurangBhardwa1)
— xavierunclelite (@xavierunclelite)
— Sam0kayy (@Sam0kayy)
— iAmSumanGX (@iAmSumanGX)
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Following the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor to eliminate the perpetrators. In retaliation, Pakistan carried out missile and drone strikes last night, escalating tensions between the two nations.Due to ongoing tensions and security concerns, the IPL 2025 has been officially suspended until further notice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
PCB issues blanket ban on future participation in WCL
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced a blanket ban on its players' participation in future editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), accusing the tournament organisers of being biased and lacking sporting integrity. The decision comes in the wake of a controversy where the Indian team forfeited both their group-stage clash and semifinal against Pakistan, citing the country's stand against bilateral sporting ties following the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack. 'The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL),' the board said in a statement after a virtual meeting of its Board of Governors chaired by Mohsin Naqvi. The PCB strongly objected to the WCL's decision to award points to India despite their forfeiture, calling the move 'tainted with hypocrisy and bias.' India and Pakistan were scheduled to face off in the group stage, but the Indian side—featuring Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Harbhajan Singh—refused to play, citing national sentiment in the aftermath of the terror attack and India's subsequent 'Operation Sindoor.'
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
PCB imposes 'blanket ban' on Pakistan's participation in WCL following India's boycott: 'Not only regrettable but...'
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed a blanket ban on Pakistan's participation in the upcoming editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL). This decision comes following India's decision to boycott the matches against Pakistan, keeping national sentiments in mind. India were slated to square off against the arch-rival in the group stage, but the organisers called off the fixture after social media outrage. Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, and others had already pulled out of the contest, and hence the organisers had no choice but to call the contest off. PCB imposes blanket ban on Pakistan's participation in upcoming WCL tournaments. India were then slated to play Pakistan in the semi-final. However, a day before the contest, the side pulled out of the contest, giving their opponents a direct qualification into the final, where they eventually lost against South Africa. On Sunday, the PCB issued an official statement, calling out the organisers of WCL for hypocrisy. The Mohsin Naqvi-headed board stated that they have no choice but to impose a blanket ban, looking at the behaviour of the organisers of WCL. 'The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). The PCB, during its 79th BoG meeting held virtually under the chairmanship of Mohsin Naqvi, reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL's appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancellation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches, which were tainted with hypocrisy and bias,' the PCB said in their statement. Also Read: Suresh Raina breaks silence on not taking field against Pakistan in WCL 2025 "The contents of the said press releases highlight a duality where the narrative of 'peace through sport' is selectively applied and sporting events are held hostage to political expediency and narrow commercial interests," the statement added. Pahalgam terror attack Calls have been growing in India for the country to stop all ties with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 tourists were killed by terrorists. India then launched Operation Sindoor, attacking terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). However, the PCB labelled WCL organisers' statement of being 'farcical', alleging that the cancellation of matches between India and Pakistan was not based on 'cricketing merit.' "The WCL's apology for "hurting the sentiments", whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancellation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative. This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community," the PCB stated. 'In light of this unfortunate development, which underscores a clear and intolerable pattern of external influence and a disregard for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board is compelled to take a firm stance. The PCB can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures,' the statement added. The second edition of WCL concluded on Saturday with South Africa defeating Pakistan by nine wickets in the final at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Pakistan Cricket Board issues ‘blanket ban' on future participation in WCL
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday (August 3, 2025) announced a blanket ban on its players' participation in future editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), accusing the tournament organisers of being 'biased' and lacking sporting integrity. The decision follows a sequence of events in which the Indian team forfeited both their group-stage clash and semifinal against Pakistan, citing the country's stand against bilateral sporting ties with the neighbouring country after the gruesome Pahalagam terror attack. 'The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that it is issuing a blanket ban from future participation in the World Championship of Legends (WCL),' the PCB said in a statement after its board of governors meeting held virtually under the chairmanship of Mohsin Naqvi. The PCB also took strong exception to the WCL's decision to award points to India despite the forfeiture, calling it "tainted with hypocrisy and bias." India and Pakistan had been slated to meet in the group stage, but the Indian side — featuring Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Harbhajan Singh — refused to play, citing national sentiment following the terror attack and India's subsequent 'Operation Sindoor'. With India also pulling out of the semifinal, Pakistan advanced directly to the final. "The PCB reviewed with considerable disappointment WCL's appalling conduct of awarding points to a willfully forfeiting team, and the content of the press releases of the WCL announcing the cancellation of the scheduled India vs. Pakistan legends matches, which were tainted with hypocrisy and bias." Criticising the tournament's handling of the situation, the PCB said, "The cancellation was not based on cricketing merit but on appeasing a specific nationalistic narrative. This sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community." The board further stated that it could not allow its players to participate in events where "the spirit of the game is overshadowed by skewed politics that undermine the very essence of sportsmanship and the gentleman's game." The WCL, which is co-owned by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, had earlier issued an apology for "hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions" following the cancellation of the group stage 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 WCL had said. The PCB, however, termed the apology "farcical," accusing the organisers of caving to "a specific nationalistic narrative." "The WCL's apology for "hurting the sentiments", whilst being farcical, inadvertently acknowledges that the cancellation was not based on cricketing merit, but rather on succumbing to a specific nationalistic narrative," the PCB said. "This bias, masquerading as sensitivity, sends an unacceptable message to the international sporting community." PCB said it had no choice but to implement the ban. "In light of this unfortunate development, which underscores a clear and intolerable pattern of external influence and a disregard for the principles of sporting neutrality, the Pakistan Cricket Board is compelled to take a firm stance. "The PCB can no longer condone participation in an event where the fundamental principles of fair play and unbiased administration are compromised by external pressures," it added. Sources in the know of things have indicated that WCL's Indian promoters were already considering dropping the Pakistan team from future editions of the tournament.
