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KABUL — Afghanistan has withdrawn from a Twenty20 tri-series in Pakistan after three local players were killed in what officials said were cross-border airstrikes in the eastern province of Paktika. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said the cricketers were targeted while attending a gathering in Urgun district on Friday, following a friendly match in nearby Sharana.
Provincial authorities confirmed that 10 people were killed in total, including the three players — Kabeer Agha Argon, Sibghatullah Zirok, and Haroon — while several others were injured. Thousands attended the victims’ funeral prayers on Saturday, where mourners condemned the strikes.
“The ACB considers this a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community,” the board said in a statement, announcing that the team would pull out of the Rawalpindi and Lahore tri-series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, scheduled for next month. “As a gesture of respect to the victims, we have decided not to participate.”
The attack comes amid days of deadly clashes along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, which have killed dozens on both sides despite a fragile ceasefire and planned peace talks in Doha. Afghan captain Rashid Khan and the country’s sports journalists welcomed the boycott, calling the strikes a “barbaric and shameful act.”
Pakistan’s military has yet to comment on the incident.
