(Reuters) -Afghanistan have withdrawn from their Twenty20 international tri-series in Pakistan next month following the death of three local cricketers that the Afghanistan Cricket Board said were due to military strikes in Paktika province.
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were due to meet in the tournament scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi and Lahore from November 17-29.
The ACB said in a statement that the three players travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to play in a friendly match and later died during the strikes after returning home to the Urgun district.
“The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” the ACB said in a statement, mourning the deaths of the players and several others.
“In response to this tragic incident and as a gesture of respect to the victims, the ACB has decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming tri-nation T20I series involving Pakistan, scheduled to be played in November.”
The International Cricket Council condemned the attack, saying it stands in solidarity with the ACB and echoes their grief.
“The ICC is deeply saddened and appalled by the tragic deaths of three young and promising Afghan cricketers, Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, who lost their lives in a recent airstrike in Afghanistan’s Paktika province,” the global governing body for cricket said in a statement.
“The ICC strongly condemns this act of violence that has robbed families, communities, and the cricketing world of three bright talents whose only ambition was to play the sport they loved.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday extended a 48-hour truce amid peace talks in Doha, sources said, as they seek to resolve clashes that have killed dozens in the worst violence between the nations since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
The fierce fighting between the one-time allies and Pakistani airstrikes across their contested 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier were triggered after Islamabad demanded Kabul rein in militants who stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.
Pakistan and India, who also share a tense political relationship, have not played a bilateral cricket series since 2012, meeting only in multi-nation tournaments since then.
India’s cricket board said in a statement: “The BCCI stands in solidarity with the ACB, the cricket fraternity, and the families of the departed players during this moment of profound grief and condemns this ghastly and unwarranted attack.
“The loss of innocent lives, particularly those of promising sportspersons, is deeply distressing and a matter of great concern. The BCCI conveys its heartfelt sympathies to the people of Afghanistan and shares in their pain and loss.”
Zimbabwe will replace Afghanistan in the November 17–29 T20 tri-series in Pakistan, the country’s cricket board announced on Saturday.
“Zimbabwe Cricket has accepted the Pakistan Cricket Board’s invitation to participate in a T20I tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka,” the PCB statement said.
“The maiden tri-series on Pakistan soil has been scheduled to provide all three sides with preparation ahead of next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.”
Zimbabwe will open the series against the hosts on November 17 and face Sri Lanka on November 19 in Rawalpindi before matches move to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar and Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
