The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced that three of its domestic cricketers were killed in an alleged Pakistani airstrike in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. Following the tragic incident, the ACB has decided to withdraw from the upcoming tri-nation T20 series that was scheduled to take place in Lahore and Rawalpindi in November, involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.
The ACB released a strong statement on Saturday condemning the incident, calling it “a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime.” According to the board, the players — identified as Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon — were killed alongside five other civilians from Urgun district when airstrikes hit residential areas in Paktika. Seven more people were reportedly injured in the attack.
The board said the players had recently travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to take part in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were attending a small community gathering when the airstrikes took place. “This is a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family,” the statement read. “The ACB extends its deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs and to the people of Paktika province.” 
The incident has shocked the sporting community in Afghanistan, as the three cricketers were considered promising players in the domestic circuit. Their deaths have cast a dark shadow over Afghanistan cricket, which has often been seen as a symbol of national pride and unity amid years of conflict and instability.
Afghanistan’s national cricket team captain, Rashid Khan, also issued a powerful statement expressing his grief and anger over the tragedy. Calling the attack “barbaric” and “immoral,” Rashid said he stood by the board’s decision to withdraw from the series against Pakistan.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of civilian lives in the recent Pakistani aerial strikes on Afghanistan,” Rashid said. “A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage. It is absolutely immoral and barbaric to target civilian infrastructure.”
Rashid further said that such actions were a violation of human rights and must not be ignored by the international community. “Our national dignity must come before all else,” he added, supporting the ACB’s decision to boycott Pakistan.
