Afghanistan - Pakistan series will go ahead as per schedule, confirms ACB

With Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the fate of cricket in the country is concerning. Taliban banned cricket when it was earlier in power about two decades ago thus many are wondering if they would allow the national team to go and play outside the country. However, at the moment, all seems good as Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have confirmed that Afghanistan’s three-match ODI series against Pakistan will go ahead as planned.

The board said the team will soon depart for Sri Lanka, the venue for the series. The ODIs were earlier scheduled to be staged in UAE but were moved to Sri Lanka after UAE denied hosting the series due to the second leg of IPL and T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the Taliban has sealed all the borders of Afghanistan as well as the Kabul airport thus it’s not clear how the team will reach Sri Lanka.

“It is expected that the Afghan national cricket team will soon travel to Sri Lanka to play three international one-day matches against Pakistan,” ACB said in a social media post

Since the Taliban’s takeover, the situation in Afghanistan is chaotic with bloodshed all around the country. Several heartbreaking scenes of the citizens trying to escape the country are circulating on social media. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s national cricketers, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have called for peace in the country.

‘Dear world leaders,’ Khan, regarded by many as the best T20 bowler on the planet, wrote to his legions of social media followers.
‘My country is in chaos, thousands of innocent people, including children and women, get martyred every day, houses and properties being destructed.

‘Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans and destroying Afghanistan. We want peace.’

The current situation also put Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi’s participation in IPL in doubt. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have confirmed the availability of the players.