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On Saturday, October 18, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that the upcoming three-nation T20I series at home with Sri Lanka being the other participant, slated to be played from November 17 to 29 at home, will not be halted after Afghanistan withdrew from it in the aftermath of the deadly Paktika airstrikes. Overnight, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) pulled out of the series after making a claim that three of their cricketers died in the airstrikes conducted inside their country by the Pakistan Air Force.
In their official statement after the Paktika airstrikes, the ACB revealed that three players Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon along with five other Afghanistan citizens were martyred while seven others were injured. They also pointed out that the players were in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to compete in a friendly cricket match before being targeted by the Pakistan Air Force at a gathering upon their return home.
As per the report published in Times of India, the senior PCB official gave the latest update on the three-nation T20I series, stating that they will announce the replacement team at the earliest. It read, “The Tri-Series will progress as scheduled even after Afghanistan's withdrawal. We are looking at a replacement team and once finalised, the announcement will be made. The Tri-Series features a third team in Sri Lanka so it is on from 17th November.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan relations have strained steadily in recent times
While Pakistan has given the Afghan players the chance to participate in their domestic tournaments in the recent past, the political relationship between both the countries have slowly and gradually strained. This has also transferred into animosity between both sets of cricket fans overseas with clashes inside and outside cricket stadiums whenever they ended up playing white-ball cricket with each other.
Moreover, Pakistan are already set to play against Sri Lanka in a three-match bilateral T20I series at home before the three-nation series gets underway.
