The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said that it was pulling out of a T20I tri-nations series scheduled to be held in Pakistan next month after alleging that three cricketers were killed in a strike carried out by Islamabad.
While there was no official word from the government or military, security sources said Pakistan had again targeted terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan. Incidents were reported from the Angoor Adda region and across Afghanistan’s Urgun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, as security sources claimed that precision strikes were conducted against hideouts of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, reportedly killing dozens of fighters.
The attacks came on the heels of an audacious gun-and-bomb attack targeting a military installation in North Waziristan, and just hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended their two-day ceasefire.
In a post on social media platform X late Friday night, the ACB said three players — identified as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon — and “five other countrymen” from Urgun district were killed and seven others were injured in a strike.
It said the players had earlier travelled to Sharana to participate in a friendly cricket match.
“The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” the cricketing board said. As a result, the ACB decided to withdraw from participating in the tri-nation series scheduled to be played in November.
Afghanistan’s ace spinner Rashid Khan, in a post on X, said he welcomed the ACB’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming fixtures against Pakistan.
Pakistan was set to host the series, which also included Sri Lanka, from November 17 to 29.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Spokesperson Amir Mir told Dawn.com that the tri-series was still on and then third team would be finalised shortly.
