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The Afghanistan cricket fraternity was left shaken after three rising cricketers were killed in a drone attack in Paktika province. On Tuesday, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) spokesperson, Sayed Naseem Sadaat, said they have clear evidence, including video footage, that Pakistan was responsible for the attack. Following the dreadful incident last week, the ACB withdrew the national team from next month’s Tri-Nation T20I Series in Pakistan. Sadaat’s statement came just days after Pakistan’s government released a statement disputing reports that ‘cricketers’ had been killed in an ‘airstrike’. “We got evidence that all the cricket fraternity and all the people around the world would have definitely watched our video report on the incident that was made by our media team. So, we got clear evidence that the attack was done by a Pakistani state,” Sadaat told ANI. “After the incident, the management of the Afghanistan Cricket Board decided to cancel Afghanistan’s participation in the tri-series that was going to be hosted by Pakistan.” Earlier on Friday, ACB stated that the attack claimed several lives, including three local cricketers, identified as Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, who were on their way home after playing a friendly match in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province. “The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” it said in a statement. Condemning the airstrike, Sadaat requested all other cricket boards to denounce the attack. He said cricket is a symbol of peace and should remain untouched by war. “We call upon all the cricket boards to condemn such barbaric attacks because cricket is a game that carries the message of peace. Cricketers are peace ambassadors, and they should stay away from the war. War should not be interfered with in sports. So we call upon all the cricket fraternity and boards to condemn such attacks and keep cricket away from war,” he said. Following Afghanistan’s withdrawal from the T20I tri-series amid escalating cross-border tensions with Islamabad, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Zimbabwe has accepted their invitation to participate in the tri-series.
