Pakistan Champions owner Kamil Khan has voiced his frustration over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) recent decision to prohibit his team from using the country’s name in future editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL).
The move came after the PCB’s 79th Board of Governors (BoG) meeting, where the board issued a strong statement criticizing the WCL organizers for “double standards and politically motivated behavior.” In response, the PCB announced a blanket ban on the use of “Pakistan” in franchise team names for private leagues like the WCL.
This development followed controversy during WCL 2025, when India Champions refused to play against Pakistan Champions due to ongoing political tensions. As a result, two key matches — a group-stage game and the semi-final — were canceled without a ball being bowled. Points were shared in the group match, while Pakistan progressed to the final through a walkover in the semi-final. However, they lost the final to South Africa Champions by nine wickets, finishing as runners-up for the second consecutive time.
Despite the setback, Kamil Khan remained proud of his team’s performance.
“Just like the first season, Pakistan Champions performed really well in the second season too,” he told reporters in Birmingham.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t win the final, which we really wanted to, and millions of Pakistanis were hoping for it as well. But the team played well throughout. One bad day doesn’t make a team bad. Losing one final doesn’t mean the Pakistan Champions is over,” he added.
Reacting to the PCB’s ban, Kamil made it clear that his franchise will continue, regardless of the cricket board’s stance.
“We’ve seen reports that Pakistan Champions won’t be back, but I don’t know where that’s come from. If it’s from the PCB, then I’m not sure why,” he said.
“This is our own team. I own it. It’s a private league, and I am the owner. PCB does not own the team. There are so many private leagues around the world; no one can stop us from naming our team after our country. Pakistan is our pride,” he stated.
Kamil Khan also clarified that all players participated in the WCL with proper approval from the PCB, as required no-objection certificates (NOCs) had been obtained beforehand.
“We took NOCs from the PCB for all the players,” he added.
“In fact, we also met with Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who was supportive and helpful. I’m thankful to him for backing Pakistan Champions,” he further noted.
He emphasized that the team name was meant to reflect national pride and was not an attempt to misuse official branding.
“There was no contact from the PCB before or after the tournament,” Kamil stated.
“This is our national identity. We named the team accordingly. We didn’t use PCB’s logo or any of their branding, only their players, and that too after securing official clearance,” he concluded.
