The World Championship of Legends returns for a third season from October 3 to 18, moving to the UAE for the first time. After two editions in England, the T20 tournament for retired international cricketers shifts to the Middle East with an expanded lineup.
India Champions, Pakistan Champions, England Champions, Australia Champions, South Africa Champions, West Indies Champions, and Bangladesh Champions will compete. Bangladesh is a new addition, taking the field count from six to seven.
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David Warner headlines the new arrivals. The former Australian opener joins AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shahid Afridi, Moeen Ali, and Mahmudullah. Each name anchors a different national team: Warner with Australia Champions, De Villiers with South Africa, Yuvraj with India, Bravo with West Indies, Afridi with Pakistan, Moeen with England, and Mahmudullah with the new Bangladesh side.
“Season 3 is going to be very special. We are taking WCL to the UAE for the first time, giving our fans an experience they have never seen before.”
Harshit Tomar, Founder and CEO of WCL, Season 3 announcement, August 2026
The tournament is co-owned by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn. Season 2 drew 425 million viewers worldwide, numbers that explain the ambition behind the UAE move.
The biggest unresolved question is Pakistan Champions’ participation. The PCB issued a blanket ban on Pakistani players featuring in future WCL editions after Season 2. Chairman Mohsin Naqvi cited “hypocrisy and bias” in how the tournament handled India Champions’ withdrawal from both their league match and semifinal against Pakistan in July 2025.
India’s players refused to face Pakistan following the cross-border military conflict of May 2025. WCL organizers accepted the decision, stating “public sentiment must always be respected.” The PCB called the tournament’s “peace through sport” narrative “selectively applied.”
Despite the ban, WCL has listed Pakistan Champions among the Season 3 teams with Afridi named as a confirmed player. No public statement explains how this contradiction resolves.
Season 2 ended with South Africa Champions winning the title at Edgbaston. De Villiers scored an unbeaten 120 off 60 balls in a nine-wicket demolition of Pakistan Champions in the final.
But the tournament’s storyline was dominated by India’s boycott, not the cricket. India Champions won just one of five league matches, and the semifinal withdrawal handed Pakistan a walkover into the final.
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When you have not faced genuine pace in three or four years, the first net session tells you everything. The hands are slower. The pickup feels heavier. You remember where to put the ball, but the body takes an extra half-second to get there, and at T20 speed, half a second is the difference between middling it and edging it.
UAE in October makes that gap worse. These are not English summer evenings where a 37-year-old can cruise through six overs of medium pace. The heat sits above 35 degrees, the pitches offer less margin, and dew changes the ball completely in the second innings. For players who peaked a decade ago, the conditions will separate those still training seriously from those who showed up for the payday.
Full squads, the exact UAE venue, and broadcast partners for Season 3 have not been announced. WCL has confirmed details will come through official channels in the coming weeks.
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