Afghanistan to not play in tri-nation series after 3 cricketers killed in attack by Pakistan

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. Pakistan launched air strikes inside Afghanistan late Friday, killing at least 10 people and breaking a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border, Afghan officials told AFP.

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.

Recommended For You

NMC Royal Hospital – Khalifa City awarded comprehensive Chest Pain Center Certification from the American Heart Association

Dubai hosted Fourth Asgardia Executive Congress – synergy for humanity’s cosmic future

BCC Group International acquires majority stake in Ajad Real Estate

Free tickets for Emirates employees on completing 30x30 at Dubai Fitness Challenge

Adnoc Drilling expands regional footprint with major stake in MB Petroleum Services

 

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".

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

The ACB named the three players as "Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon".

The ACB 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".

"Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika" province, a senior Taliban official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Afghanistan will retaliate." Ten civilians were killed and 12 others wounded in the strikes, a provincial hospital official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that two children were among the dead.

"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."