Afghanistan withdraws from tri-series amid tensions with Pakistan

Afghanistan have withdrawn from participating in next month’s tri-series following cross-border tensions with Pakistan.

The decision was made after the death of three local cricketers in a cross-border attack in the Urgun district of the country.

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.”

The T20I series was originally scheduled to feature Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka and was scheduled to be played November 17-29 in Rawalpindi and Lahore.

Pakistan and Afghanistan had been scheduled to play each other twice in the tournament – on November 17 in the series opener, and again on November 23.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has yet to comment on the development.