Shahid Afridi Breaks Silence On India vs Pakistan Legends Match Cancellation, Says "One Bad egg..."
Speaking to reporters after the fixture was cancelled, Afridi strangely stressed the need for cricket and politics to be kept apart despite being involved making provocative political statements on multiple occasions in the past.
"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," Afridi told reporters.
The former Pakistan national team skipper even said that India shouldn't have come to the venue if they didn't want to play.
"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," he added.
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
Afridi even seemed to have called Dhawan a 'bad egg', as he was the first one to raise objection on the Indo-Pak match in the WCL, doing so for the first time a couple of months ago, before reiterating his stance on Saturday.
"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," he said. "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 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," he said.
"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," he concluded.
What Shikhar Dhawan Said On Playing Against Pakistan
On Saturday, taking to social media, Dhawan confirmed his stance on the eve of the contest He said: " Jo Kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh see badhkar aur kuch nahi hota. (The decision I took on 11 May, I still stand by it. My country is everything to me, and nothing is greater than the country)."
Dhawan wasn't the only Indian player to have refused to play against Pakistan, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, the Pathan brothers, etc. also maintaining the same stance. The entire team's decision was communicated to the organisers, hence, the fixture had to be called off.
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