Afghanistan Pull Out Of Tri-Series After Pakistani Strikes Kill 3 Cricketers

Afghanistan have pulled out of a tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka next month after three local cricketers were killed in an attack, the country’s cricket board said on Friday. The ACB said that the players had travelled from Urgun to Sharana in the eastern Paktika province on the Pakistan border to take part in a friendly match. It said that “after returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering” in what it described as “a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime”. The ACB named the three players as “Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon”, and said that five other people were also killed in the attack.

The ACB did not give any more details on the attack.

It said that it “considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family”, while extending its “deepest condolences and solidarity to the bereaved families”.

The ACB said that it had decided to withdraw from next month’s tri-series “as a gesture of respect to the victims”.

“The massacre of innocent civilians and our domestic cricket players by these oppressors is a heinous, unforgivable crime,” wrote Afghan international cricketer Fazalhaq Farooqi on Facebook.

Another international player, Mohammad Nabi, added: “This incident is not only a tragedy for Paktika but for the entire Afghan cricket family and the nation as a whole.”

“We received the news with great sorrow that in the Arghun district of Paktika province, a number of our country’s players were martyred by merciless enemies of our nation. I ask the Great Lord to grant them Jannat-ul-Firdous (the highest paradise). And may the Almighty Lord disgrace the eternal enemies of our country. Amen, O Lord of the Worlds. The post is a message of condolence and a prayer for the victims who were reportedly players from the country, killed in an incident in the Arghun district of Paktika province,” wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz wrote in a detailed post.

(With Added Inputs)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *