Afghanistan withdraws from T20 tri-series in Pakistan over military strikes

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has withdrawn its national team from next month’s Twenty20 tri-series in Pakistan after it said three local cricketers were killed in Pakistan military strikes in southeastern Paktika province on Friday.

The ACB said on social media Saturday that the cricketers were "targeted during a gathering” in Urgun district when they returned home after playing a friendly cricket match in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province.

Paktika officials said the players had been visiting a home at the time of the strike that killed 10 people.

ACB spokesman Said Nasim Sadat identified the players killed as Kabeer Agha Argon, Sibghatullah Zirok, and Haroon, who, like many Afghans, only goes by one name.

Fellow cricketer Saifullah Khan was in the hospital where the wounded cricketers were being treated.

"We are athletes and ambassadors of peace," he said. "We don't want there to be anymore bombings or killings like this.”

On Saturday, several thousand people attended the funeral prayers in Paktika. They sat in the open air as loudspeakers broadcast sermons and condemnations.

Afghan relatives and mourners offer prayers during the funeral ceremony of victims, killed in aerial strikes by Pakistan, at the Urgun district of Paktika on Saturday. AFP

"The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” the board said in its statement.

"In response of this tragic incident and as a gesture of respect to the victims, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series.”

Afghan captain Rashid Khan and the Afghanistan Sports Journalists Federation welcomed the decision. The federation condemned the strike as a "barbaric and shameful act, which stands in clear violation of all international laws.”

The tri-series, also featuring Sri Lanka, was due to be played from Nov.17-29 in Rawalpindi and Lahore as part of teams' preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

It would have been the second tri-series featuring Pakistan and Afghanistan in four months after both teams competed in a three-nation tournament in the United Arab Emirates in September. Pakistan beat Afghanistan in the final of that tournament.

Associated Press