Afghanistan - Pakistan series still on, confirms ACB

Dark clouds loomed over the fate of Afghanistan Cricket after Taliban took over the reins of the country. The Taliban was not in favour of cricket and banned it when they were earlier in power about two decades ago.

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With Afghanistan set for a historic series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka, many wondered whether the series will go ahead or not. Currently, there is no way out of Afghanistan as the Taliban has sealed the borders along with the Kabul Airport. However, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has confirmed the series will go ahead as planned.

The two teams were set to lock horns in UAE but the series was shifted to Sri Lanka after the Arab country denied staging the series due to the second leg of IPL and T20 World Cup.

“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.

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The situation in Afghanistan is chaotic and many Afghanistan cricketers, including Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, have pleaded the world leaders for help.

‘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.

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

Meanwhile, both Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who are currently playing 'The Hundred', will also be available for the second leg of IPL. The all-rounders play for the same franchise - Sunrisers Hyderabad and will soon join the squad in UAE.

While there were doubts about Afghanistan's participation in the T20 World Cup, the Afghan media manager has confirmed the team will travel to UAE for the showpiece event. However, a lot will depend on how things shape up in Afghanistan in the coming days.