The Indian Legends team, which refused to play against Pakistan in the group stage of the World Championship of Legends 2025, is now set to face the Green Shirts in the tournament’s semifinal.

 

On Tuesday, India qualified for the semifinal after defeating West Indies Champions in a crucial encounter. Batting first, the West Indies side set a target of 145 runs in the allotted 20 overs. However, India managed to chase the total in less than 14 overs, which was needed for them to achieve the required net run rate for qualification.

 

Owing to a brilliant half-century by Stuart Binny, India achieved the target in only 13.2 overs, losing five wickets in the process. With this result, India became the fourth and final team to reach the semifinals.

 

Earlier on the same day, Pakistan Champions crushed Australia Champions by 10 wickets, securing the top position on the points table.

 

Following India's win, the semifinal lineup is now complete. Table-toppers Pakistan will now take on fourth-placed India in the first semifinal on July 31. The second semifinal, also scheduled for the same day, will be played between South Africa and Australia.

 

It merits mention that the much-anticipated group stage clash between Pakistan and India was cancelled earlier in the tournament after Indian players refused to play against the Pakistani side.

 

According to reports, Indian team demanded that Shahid Afridi not be included in the playing XI as cricketers, including Shikhar Dhawan, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, and Harbhajan Singh, reportedly opposed playing the match over the Pakistani star’s political views and strong opposition of Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

 

Following this, tournament organisers had issued a statement expressing regret over the cancellation of the match between the two arch-rivals. In a recent media interaction, Dhawan said that if they did not play against Pakistan in the group stage, they will not play in the semifinal or final either.

 

Now all eyes are on whether the Indian team will follow through on its earlier stance or show up for the high-voltage semifinal clash.