Boycotted IND vs PAK tie in WCL, but gets Asia Cup go-ahead: Danish Kaneria slams hypocrisy of Indian players

Published - 27 Jul 2025, 14:54 IST | Updated - 27 Jul 2025, 15:36 IST

Danish Kaneria lashed out at the Indian players for their hypocrisy, as they boycotted the clash versus Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 earlier this month due to the political tension between the two countries, but they are now going ahead with the Asia Cup encounter against the Men in Green.

On July 20, ahead of the India Champions vs Pakistan Champions match in the WCL, former international cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, and others decided to pull out of the contest in the aftermath of the backlash they faced on social media. This was supposed to be the first meeting between the two sides on the cricket field after Operation Sindoor.

However, in the Asia Cup, India and Pakistan have been grouped together, and there is a chance of them meeting three times in the tournament. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage. In the Super Fours, each team will face the other three once. Two teams from the Super Four stage will play the final, which is set to be played on September 28.

This didn't sit well with Kaneria as he said that if the players are okay with playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup, then there shouldn't have been a problem in going through with the WCL clash. The former Pakistan leg-spinner told not to use patriotism according to the situation.

"Indian players boycotted WCL and called it national duty. But now Asia Cup vs Pakistan is just fine? If cricket with Pakistan is okay, then WCL should’ve been too. Stop using patriotism when it suits you. Let sport be sport — not propaganda," tweeted Kaneria.

Former Bengal cricketer Shreevats Goswami opined that India should forfeit their match against Pakistan and allow them to progress in the Asia Cup. He said that India are participating in the tournament only to help other countries economically.

"My read on the Asia cup going forward is India to & must forfeit the game against Pakistan& let them qualify. We don’t need to win the Asia cup. The only reason India is participating cause it helps other nations economically or else I don’t see any reason. Ideally this is what should & must happen & if India decides to play against pak it will make the nation angry ! It should !" said Goswami on X.