India vs Pakistan WCL 2025: Legends Clash on July 20
Cricket fans from India and Pakistan are eagerly anticipating the upcoming clash between their legendary teams in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025. The stage is set for India Champions vs Pakistan Champions on July 20 at Edgbaston, Birmingham – a matchup dripping with nostalgia, national pride, and high-voltage rivalry.
The India vs Pakistan contest will rekindle iconic memories as former stars from both nations face off once again, giving fans a chance to see their heroes back in action. Significantly, it marks the first India–Pakistan cricket encounter since a recent period of escalated tensions between the countries – a time when even the IPL and PSL had to be halted amid conflict. Shikhar Dhawan vs Shahid Afridi rivalry took-off sky high.
With history, politics, and passion as the backdrop, the upcoming showdown is going to be more than just a WCL T20 game; it’s shaping up as a marquee event that has the cricket world buzzing with excitement.
WCL Season 2 – Where Legends Return to the Field
The World Championship of Legends (WCL) is a T20 league that brings retired cricket icons back to the pitch in an officially sanctioned competition. After a successful inaugural edition in 2024, the tournament returns for Season 2 in 2025 with even greater fanfare. The second season runs from July 18 to August 2, 2025, spanning 18 matches over 16 days across four English cities – Birmingham, Northampton, Leicester, and Leeds.
This expansion to multiple venues reflects WCL’s growing popularity and its vision of reaching more fans with the magic of legends cricket. According to WCL CEO Harshit Tomar, the goal is to “celebrate the legacy of cricket by bringing its greatest legends back to the field,” an experience meant to “relive iconic moments of the game” for supporters everywhere.
Six teams – India Champions, Pakistan Champions, England Champions, Australia Champions, South Africa Champions, and West Indies Champions – will compete in a round-robin format. The league has been hailed as a “celebration of the sport’s greatest players and their enduring legacy,” providing a nostalgic yet highly competitive spectacle for fans. In the inaugural season, India Champions lifted the trophy, and Season 2 is expected to deliver even more fireworks.
Notably, the schedule was crafted to highlight the biggest rivalry of all: India vs Pakistan is positioned as the blockbuster fixture of the league stage. In fact, WCL organizers have singled out the July 20 India-Pakistan game as the most anticipated match of the tournament – the clash that everyone will be watching.
Pakistan vs India Renewed Rivalry After Tumultuous Times
When India and Pakistan face off on July 20, it will be a rematch of last season’s final – and a meeting charged with both sporting and symbolic significance. In the 2024 WCL final, Yuvraj Singh’s India Champions defeated Pakistan Champions by five wickets to clinch the inaugural title. That thrilling finale in Birmingham saw India chase down 157 with Yuvraj at the helm, earning bragging rights over their arch-rivals.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the two teams will lock horns in the league stage, but the intensity is no less. Fans have been salivating for this encounter, eager to see if Pakistan can avenge last year’s defeat or if India will reinforce their dominance. The fact that these sides meet so early in the tournament only raises the stakes – a win on July 20 could set the tone for the rest of the competition.
Adding to the hype is the context off the field. This will be the first India-Pakistan cricket contest of any kind since a flare-up in relations earlier this year, which spilled over into sports. In May 2025, a serious border conflict erupted following a terror attack in Pahalgam, leading India to launch “Operation Sindoor” in retaliation.
The ensuing crisis brought the two nations to the brink and even disrupted cricket – the IPL 2025 was postponed and the Pakistan Super League delayed amid the hostilities. With tensions only recently cooled by a ceasefire, an India-Pakistan match – even featuring retired players – carries extra weight.
Players and fans on both sides know that an encounter between the two countries is never “just another game.” The patriotic fervor runs high, and every contest becomes a matter of pride. Though the WCL is fundamentally about camaraderie and nostalgia, expect the competitive juices to flow just as strongly. Both teams will be determined to win not only for themselves but to give their countrymen a reason to cheer during challenging times.
Star-Studded Squads: Yuvraj’s India vs Afridi’s Pakistan
One of the biggest attractions of this WCL clash is the array of superstar names taking the field. For Indian fans, it’s a nostalgic lineup led by the one and only Yuvraj Singh – the “Sixer King” who famously hit six sixes in an over in his prime. Yuvraj has confirmed he will captain the India Champions again in Season 2, after having led them to the title in the inaugural edition.
The beloved all-rounder expressed his excitement to represent India’s legends side once more, calling the first WCL triumph a memory “close to my heart” and hoping to repeat that success. Backing Yuvraj is a formidable India Champions squad packed with match-winners from the 2000s and 2010s era.
Familiar names include Suresh Raina, Vinay Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Parthiv Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Naman Ojha, Munaf Patel, Reetinder Sodhi, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif, Robin Uthappa, Pragyan Ojha.
For Pakistan, the star power is equally impressive. The Pakistan Champions will be led by veteran batting great Younis Khan as captain, bringing his astute leadership and calm demeanor to the fore. However, the spotlight will undoubtedly shine brightest on Shahid “Boom Boom” Afridi, the iconic all-rounder who remains one of the biggest names in cricket.
The Pakistan Champions squad reads like a who’s who of the country’s 2000s-era legends. Fans will see crafty middle-order anchor Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Younis Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Nazir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi.
As ABP Live noted, “a host of iconic players will represent both teams, bringing back memories from the golden days of cricket”.
Afridi vs Dhawan: War of Words Adds Fuel to the Fire
Beyond the collective rivalry of the two teams, a personal duel has been grabbing headlines: Shahid Afridi vs Shikhar Dhawan. In the build-up to the WCL, a heated exchange on social media between the Pakistani superstar and the Indian opener has added extra spice to the upcoming match. It all began in late April 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent military tensions. Both players took to the X (formerly Twitter), attacked each other.
The back-and-forth between the two ex-openers grabbed headlines on both sides of the border. Now, this social media spat has spilled onto the cricket field – at least in terms of fan anticipation. Suddenly, the prospect of Dhawan facing Afridi in the WCL match has created a buzz like none other.
Fans are eagerly waiting to see if there will be any visible fireworks when Afridi and Dhawan come face to face on July 20 – perhaps a friendly handshake, a competitive stare-down, or even a repeat of the banter in person. Both men are proud patriots and fierce competitors, so expect them to channel any off-field tensions into their performance on the day.
Match Details: When and How to Watch
The India Champions vs Pakistan Champions match is slated for July 20, 2025, at the iconic Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. According to the schedule, this high-voltage encounter will begin at 4:30 PM IST (12:00 noon local time). Edgbaston was the primary host venue for WCL last year as well, and it witnessed over 50,000 fans during the tournament’s first edition – a testament to the draw of these legends.
The organizers expect another packed house, with a carnival atmosphere as Indian and Pakistani fans (and neutrals) come together to enjoy the spectacle. The match will be broadcast live at 4:30 PM IST for viewers back home in the subcontinent, so those unable to attend can still catch all the action on their screens. As one Pakistani publication quipped, whenever India and Pakistan play cricket, “it will be something bigger than the Ashes” – and that holds true even for a legends league.
A Hype-Filled Showdown for the Ages
In summary, the upcoming India vs Pakistan Champions match in WCL 2025 is shaping up to be a must-watch event for cricket fans across generations. It offers a unique blend of nostalgia and intensity: nostalgia, because we get to see legends like Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi, Suresh Raina, Misbah-ul-Haq and more don their national colors again; intensity, because an India-Pakistan contest – at any level – never fails to deliver drama and passion.
On the eve of the tournament, WCL Chief Patron Nishant Pitti remarked that WCL is about “reviving iconic rivalries and offering fans a nostalgic yet highly competitive cricketing experience”. There could be no rivalry more iconic than India vs Pakistan to fulfill that promise.