Four Afghanistan U-19 team members refuse to fly back to Afghanistan amidst political unrest

The Afghanistan U-19 team has completed their lastest assignment in the Carrabiean - the U-19 World Cup. They had a decent tournament and ended at the fourth position. Post the tournament, four members of the team have refused to fly back home due to the political unrest in the country. Notably, the situation in the country is not good following the Taliban takeover. The four include a player and three members of the support staff.

An official statement from the Afghanistan Cricket Board is still pending, but many reports have claimed that the ACB has confirmed the players seeking asylum. The exact location of the four is not yet confirmed. However, the four are confirmed to be in London.

A report by an Afghanistan news agency, pashtovoa.com said, "The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has confirmed that a member of the Under-19 team and three board members have fled to the British capital, London, seeking asylum."

The Afghanistan team boarded a flight from Antigua to London after the end of their campaign in the tournament. The four chose to stay there and not fly back home. The rest of the team returned to Kabul via UAE.

When head coach Raees Ahmedzai was asked to comment on the situation by ESPNcricinfo, he said that he messaged each of them. However, he is yet to receive a response.

"They received my messages. But they have not responded yet. "I told them Afghanistan needs them. Sports and cricket has done a lot for Afghanistan. The support we got during the World Cup was amazing, unbelievable. Sometimes when you do things for your country, it will mean a lot for you in your whole life," he said.

He said that the Taliban taking over the country will not affect the cricket scenario.