New Delhi: Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi launched a scathing attack on ex-India batter Shikhar Dhawan as he vented out his frustration after the match between India Champions and Pakistan Champions was called in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025.
The organisers called off the game on Sunday after facing intense criticism on social media for playing cricket with Pakistan, months after the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed innocent lives. The decision came after some of the ex-India players, who are part of the India Champions team, pulled out of the contest, refusing to play against Pakistan.
According to reports, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan were among the players who initially refused to participate in the exhibition match scheduled to take place at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday. However, there is no confirmation regarding any official communication from these players. Dhawan was the only one who took to social media to confirm that he wouldn’t play against Pakistan in the tournament.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Afridi, who has made several controversial comments about India in the past, singled out Dhawan and called him a ‘rotten egg’, alleging that he ‘spoiled’ the rest of the Indian cricketers. While he didn’t name Dhawan, he was responding to a reporter’s query about Dhawan’s statement regarding his stance on playing against Pakistan.
“Sports brings countries closer. If politics comes between everything then how will you move forward? Without communication, things cannot be solved. The idea for these kinds of events is also to meet one on one. But you know, there is always one rotten egg, which spoils everything,” Afridi told the media in Birmingham.
Further attacking Dhawan over his stance to not play against Pakistan, Afridi called the former India opener an ’embarrassment to his nation’ and alleged that the Indian team was disappointed that the match was called off. Afridi stated that the other Indian players wanted the match to take place.
“They trained a day before the match. I think that they pulled out just because of one guy. Even the Indian team is very disappointed. They were here to play. I am telling you, you should be a good ambassador for the country, not an embarrassment,” said Afridi.