Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed the Yuvraj Singh-led India Champions for their refusal to play against Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). Several former Indian players, including Yuvraj, Shikhar Dhawan, and Suresh Raina, who were part of the India Champions team, refused to play the Pakistan Champions as a mark of protest against the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 that led to a military stand-off between the two countries. The second edition of the WCL started on June 18 in England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, and is scheduled to end on August 2.

"The whole world is talking about them – what message have they sent to cricket as a whole and to the fans? What are you trying to show? What are you trying to prove? Now don’t play in the World Cup... don’t play against us in any ICC tournament. Make this a promise," Butt said on his YouTube channel.

The Indian team is led by Yuvraj Singh, while the squad also consists of Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, and Varun Aaron, among others.

The Pakistan team, on the other hand, is led by Shahid Afridi and also features Younis Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, among a host of other former players.

Butt, a former Pakistan captain, also asked India to boycott Pakistan in the Olympics as well. Cricket is set to feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where six teams will compete for medals in a T20 format.

"See, we understand that everything has its own place. But now that you are interlinking, don’t play against us at any level or tournament. Not even the Olympics. Please do that. I would love to see. The stakes would be high, and I’d see how much nationalism they can show at that level,” he said.

“What is this mindset? I just can’t understand. Who is making this decision? Those 4–5 people who decided not to play – because of them, others, who probably had the mindset to play, felt pressured,” he added.

WCL organisers, earlier, did not hold India Champions accountable for the no-show, as they informed the organisers in a letter dated May 11 about their unwillingness to play Pakistan Champions.

However, Pakistan Champions said India backed out of the match and refused to share points with India Champions.