India will take on Pakistan for the first time since Operation Sindoor, when the Men in Blue face their arch-rivals in a match of World Championship of Legends (WCL) on Sunday (July 20) at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The Operation Sindoor was a military retaliation attack by India against the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
India are the defending champions of WCL, having defeated Pakistan in the final of 2024 edition. Yuvraj Singh, who led India Champions previous year, will continue in his role. Similar is the case with Pakistan Champions who will be captained by Shahid Afridi.
Importantly, the 2025 edition will see the addition of new faces in both the teams. While India Champions are bolstered by the inclusion of Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, and Shikhar Dhawan, Pakistan Champions have also strengthened their squad with Sarfaraz Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Khan, and Aamer Yamin, among others.
India face Pakistan twice in the inaugural WCL in 2024. Riding on half centuries from Kamran Akmal (77), Sharjeel Khan (72) and Shoaib Malik (51), Pakistan champions posted 243/4 in 20 overs against India Champions in the league stage. In reply, India Champions fell short by 68 runs despite a fighting 52 from Suresh Raina.
However, India took revenge when it mattered the most – in the summit clash. Batting first, Pakistan champions managed 156-6 in 20 overs with Malik top-scoring with 41. Anureet Singh took three wickets for India. In reply, India rode on Ambati Rayudu‘s 50 to win the game by five wickets.
Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Vinay Kumar, Robin Uthappa, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Reetinder Sodhi, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha.