Afghanistan withdraw from Pakistan tri-series following cross-border incident
Afghanistan has withdrawn from next month's tri-series against Pakistan following the death of three local cricketers in a cross-border attack in the Urgun district of the country.
The T20I tournament, between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, had been arranged by the PCB last month, and was scheduled to be played between November 17-29 in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
In a post on X, the ACB claimed that several lives had been lost in the attack, including three local cricketers who had been returning 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," the statement said.
Describing it as a "tragic incident", the ACB said that "as a gesture of respect to the victims" it was "decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series."
The tournament would have been the second tri-series involving Afghanistan and Pakistan this year, following their meeting in August prior to the Asia Cup. However, it was due to be their first on Pakistani soil.
Afghanistan had previously played in the country, in the 2023 Asia Cup and earlier this year in the Champions Trophy, without playing against the host nation.
Pakistan and Afghanistan had been scheduled to play each other twice in the tournament - on November 17 in the series opener, and again on November 23. The tri-series had been finalised at time when the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were already deteriorating.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has yet to comment on the development.
Source: https://africa.espn.com/cricket/sto...an-tri-series-following-cross-border-incident
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