Suresh Raina, who was a part of the India Champions squad or WLC 2025, led by Yuvraj Singh, spoke for the first time since India backed out of playing the semi-final against Pakistan.
The decision to back out from the game was to maintain the solidarity on the backdrop of the Pahalgam Attack and India’s decision to then retaliate with Operation Sindoor and then win the political battle.
India backed out from playing against Pakistan in the league stage and also in the semi-final. That allowed Pakistan Champions to qualify for the final. However, they lost to South Africa Champions in the final by nine wickets despite scoring 195 runs with the bat.
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We Chose Our Nation - Suresh Raina On Not Playing WCL Semi-Final Against Pakistan
An unbeaten century from AB De Villiers saw the Proteas team beat the Pakistan team by nine wickets. De Villiers scored 120* runs off 60 balls with 12 fours and seven sixes. With him was JP Duminy who scored 50* off 28 balls with four fours and two sixes. Together they added an unbeaten 125-run stand to take South Africa Champions to victory with almost three overs to spare.
After the game, Suresh Raina lauded AB De Villiers' innings and said that the India Champions would have crushed them had they played the final against Pakistan Champions, but they decided not to as they stood for peace and solidarity.
“What a knock by @ABdeVilliers17in 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. #WCL2025 #Respect #PlayForTheFlag” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
Also Read: India Champions Refuse to Play Pakistan Champions in WCL 2025 Semi-Final Amid Ongoing Tensions
IND-PAK Asia Cup 2025 Match Scheduled On September 14
Meanwhile, the Asia Cup 2025 schedule has been released with the match timings from 7:30 PM IST. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will host the games with India set to play Pakistan on September 14. The tournament will be played from September 9-21 and it will be played in the T20I format, with the India-PAK match set to be the marquee contest.
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