When South Africa defeated Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL 2025) final on August 2, Suresh Raina showered AB de Villiers with admiration for his incredible innings. Raina further asserted that India would have thrashed Pakistan if they had faced them in the semifinals, but the players chose to prioritize the country.
It was the AB de Villiers show in the WCL 2025 final. Pakistan had batted first and posted 195/5 with Sharjeel Khan top-scoring with 76, while Umar Amin made 36* and Asif Ali made 28 in quick time.
Responding to the target, AB de Villiers hammered 120* in 60 balls with 12 fours and 7 sixes, and JOP Duminy made 50* with 2 sixes and 4 fours as South Africa won the WCL 2025 final by 9 wickets.
While South Africa crushed Pakistan in the final, the headlines were dominated by India's unwillingness to play Pakistan in the WCL. Indian Champions refused to play Pakistan in their league stage match as Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, and the Pathan brothers all pulled out of the match.
Due to the negative reaction they received on social media, the players decided to withdraw from what was meant to be the first cricket match between the two countries since the Pahalgam incident.
As it happened, both teams were supposed to play each other in the semi-final, but the match was later called off entirely. The Indian players, however, decided to stick to their guns and exited the competition completely, refusing to play Pakistan, who then qualified for the final.
"What a knock by @ABdeVilliers17 in the final, absolutely smashed it. Had we played, we would’ve crushed them too, but we chose our nation above everything else. Full respect to @EaseMyTrip and @nishantpitti for standing firm and not supporting any match involving them. That’s real character," Raina posted on X.
Not only did Suresh Raina congratulate AB de Villiers and South Africa on their WCL 2025 win, but several other Indian legends, including Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Irfan Pathan, and Shikhar Dhawan also did the same.
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