Afghanistan Withdraws from Pakistan Tri-Series After Deaths of Cricketers in Airstrikes

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced it will withdraw from next month’s Twenty20 Tri-Nation Series in Pakistan, following the deaths of three Afghan cricketers in what Kabul said were Pakistani military strikes on southeastern Paktika province.

In a statement posted on social media on Saturday, the ACB said the players were “targeted during a gathering” in the Urgun district on Friday, after returning home from a friendly cricket match in Sharana, the provincial capital. The board described the incident as a “great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family.”

ACB spokesman Said Nasim Sadat identified the victims as Kabeer Agha Argon, Sibghatullah Zirok, and Haroon, who, like many Afghans, goes by a single name. The board said its decision to pull out of the tournament was made “as a gesture of respect to the victims.”

“The ACB considers this a tragic loss not only for Afghan cricket but for the entire nation,” the statement read. “In light of this heartbreaking incident, we will not participate in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series.”

The move drew support from Afghanistan’s cricket captain Rashid Khan, who endorsed the decision on social media, and from the Afghanistan Sports Journalists Federation, which condemned the airstrike as a “barbaric and shameful act” in violation of international law.

The tri-series, featuring Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, was scheduled to take place between November 17 and 29 in Rawalpindi and Lahore. The tournament was part of the teams’ preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka next year.

The withdrawal comes amid heightened tensions between Kabul and Islamabad following Pakistan’s airstrikes in Paktika province late Friday, which Afghan officials said killed at least 10 civilians and injured a dozen others. The attacks reportedly ended a short-lived ceasefire between the two neighbours after a week of deadly cross-border clashes.

It would have been the second tri-series between Pakistan and Afghanistan in four months. The two sides last met in the UAE in September, where Pakistan defeated Afghanistan in the final.

The ACB’s decision marks one of the most significant sporting repercussions of the renewed hostilities between the two countries, casting uncertainty over future cricketing ties. The Pakistan Cricket Board has not yet issued a formal response to Afghanistan’s withdrawal.

Observers say the decision underscores how political and military tensions continue to spill over into sport, threatening to derail years of effort aimed at fostering regional cooperation through cricket.