The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has barred its players from participating in the upcoming World Championship of Legends (WCL), citing “political narrow-mindedness” and “double standards” in the tournament’s management.

The decision was taken during a special meeting of the PCB Board of Governors chaired by Chairman Mohsin Naqvi where the board expressed serious reservations over what it described as a “politically tainted” competition.

According to a press release issued by the board on Sunday, the PCB has taken strong exception to the “deliberate and biased conduct” by the WCL organisers. “Players cannot be allowed to take part in a competition that is tainted by political narrow-mindedness,” the statement read.

The Board of Governors (BoG) also voiced disappointment over the tournament's handling of a recent controversy involving the Pakistan-India fixture, which was reportedly cancelled under unclear circumstances. The PCB viewed the press release announcing the cancellation as “a sign of double standards and bias.”

“The act of deliberately awarding points to a team without the match being played is against the very spirit of the game,” the board stated, adding that such decisions erode the credibility of international sporting events.

Highlighting Pakistan’s consistent stance on keeping politics out of sports, the PCB stressed that it had always championed the principle of neutrality in international sporting events. “The board has always been a pioneer of keeping sports separate from politics,” the statement noted.

Calling the situation “regrettable,” the PCB said it was “deeply concerned” that the WCL organisers had succumbed to external pressures, violating the basic principles of competitive fairness.

The Board of Governors warned that such a “biased attitude” by the organisers poses a serious threat to the integrity of international cricket events and is “dangerous and worrying for the future of the game.”