Afghanistan T20I captain Rashid Khan has strongly condemned Pakistan’s recent airstrike on Afghan soil that killed dozens of civilians, including three domestic cricketers. The incident, which occurred in Paktika province, has reignited tensions between the two nations and left the Afghan cricket fraternity devastated.
Rashid called the attack “barbaric and unjust,” urging the international community to take notice of what he described as a grave human rights violation. In protest, the Afghan star removed the Lahore Qalandars tag from his X (formerly Twitter) bio. Rashid has been part of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise since 2020 and played a crucial role in their three title wins.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅,” 𝑹𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑿.
Rashid Supports ACB’s Withdrawal from Tri-Series
Rashid also expressed full support for the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) decision to pull out of the upcoming T20 tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka, originally scheduled in Lahore and Rawalpindi from November 17 to 20.
“𝑰𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝑰 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑪𝑩’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒖𝒑𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏. 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 — 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
As tensions continue to rise, Rashid is reportedly considering withdrawing from the next Pakistan Super League season to stand in solidarity with his countrymen. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet released an official statement regarding the series’ future.
Also Read: Shubman Gill Clarifies Relationship with Rohit Sharma, Denies Tension