Pakistan withdraw from World Championship of Legends after PCB refuse NOCs

Pakistan Champions have withdrawn from the World Championship of Legends after the Pakistan Cricket Board refused to issue the necessary No-Objection Certificates. Although the tournament began on October 3 and organisers offered to reschedule fixtures, persistent deadlock between team owner Kamil Khan and the PCB made participation impossible ahead of their scheduled fixture against Australia.

The PCB's refusal follows a statement issued last year where it imposed a blanket ban on the event, citing hypocrisy and accusing the competition of mixing politics with sport. The squad, which finished as runners-up to South Africa in the previous edition, was set to be captained by Shahid Afridi and included former internationals Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed, and Wahab Riaz.