By – Tahir Kamran
The embers of the Afghanistan – Pakistan conflicts have singed the heart of cricket, a sport once celebrated as a beacon of peace. The deaths of three Afghan cricketers in Pakistan’s October 17 airstrikes on Paktika province have shattered the illusion of sport’s neutrality. Has the time come for the ICC and ACC to deliver an ultimatum to the Pakistan Cricket Board? Should Pakistan face a cricketing ban echoing the isolation it endured after the 2009 Lahore terror attack on Sri Lanka’s team?
Horrific Incident
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Pakistan’s strikes on Afghanistan’s Paktika province have not just inflamed a volatile border they’ve incinerated the sanctity of cricket itself. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed that three domestic players Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon were killed in Urgun district after playing a local match. These weren’t combatants; they were dreamers with bats, men who saw cricket as their escape from chaos. Their deaths mark more than a tragedy; they are a chilling assault on the game’s soul.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan called it “a wound to our nation’s spirit.” His words echo beyond grief—they indict a system that allows sport to bleed for politics. The parallels with March 3, 2008, are haunting: gunmen ambushed Sri Lanka’s cricket team near Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, killing six and injuring several players. That attack exiled international cricket from Pakistan for nearly a decade. The precedent was clear when a nation’s actions endanger sport’s sanctity, the global fraternity must act.
Cricket in the Crossfire
Pakistan’s information minister justified the strikes as attacks on “terrorist sanctuaries,” yet they obliterated civilian lives including three athletes preparing for provincial trials. Kabeer Agha, a 22-year-old batsman, was tipped for the U-23 camp. Sibghatullah, just 20, was a rising spinner in regional leagues. Haroon, 23, was a tape-ball prodigy. Their deaths turned a village pitch into a graveyard of ambition.
Afghan cricketer Mohammad Nabi’s lament on X summed it up: “Cricket was their hope. Pakistan’s bombs have stolen that too.” The ACB’s withdrawal from the upcoming tri-nation T20I series in Rawalpindi was an act of mourning and protest. Yet Pakistan’s decision to proceed with Sri Lanka feels tone-deaf—a defiance that mocks cricket’s spirit rather than defending it.
When bombs fall on budding cricketers, the stumps are not just uprooted they are desecrated.
Can Sport Remain Morally Neutral?
The old refrain, “keep politics out of sport,” collapses under the weight of reality. Sport has always been a mirror to moral choices. When South Africa was banned from cricket between 1970 and 1992 for apartheid, it wasn’t about punishing players it was about refusing fellowship with injustice. When Zimbabwe faced ICC suspension in 2004 for political interference and rights abuses, cricket declared that the field cannot be divorced from ethics.
If the ICC could suspend Pakistan from hosting matches after the 2008 attack, why not now, when state-led violence has claimed the lives of athletes? Neutrality, in such times, becomes complicity.
Sport cannot be a sanctuary for apathy.
The Case for Sanctions
A temporary ban on Pakistan’s cricketing privileges isn’t vengeance it’s accountability. Critics will say it punishes innocent players like Babar Azam or devoted fans. But history tells us otherwise: sanctions serve as moral awakenings. South Africa’s ban forced a regime to confront apartheid’s rot. Likewise, a suspension could compel Pakistan to introspect to separate its cricketing pride from its military policies.
The PCB’s dismissal of Afghanistan’s boycott as “political posturing” reveals a dangerous blindness. The world is watching. Social media is ablaze with outrage: one viral post reads, “Our boys played with passion, not guns. Pakistan’s bombs killed their dreams.
The ICC’s lukewarm statement of being “deeply saddened” is not enough. The governing body’s mandate to uphold fairness, safety, and the spirit of cricket demands courage, not condolences.
When a state’s aggression kills athletes, silence is betrayal.
Restoring the Game’s Dignity
Cricket’s cathedrals Lord’s, Eden Gardens, the MCG were built on the ideals of unity and respect. Yet today, those ideals tremble. The ICC must act decisively: suspend Pakistan’s participation until an independent probe confirms the facts. The message must be clear—cricket’s fraternity will not embrace nations that allow their politics to stain the pitch with blood.
Let this moment redefine cricket’s moral spine. Because the gentleman’s game cannot coexist with barbarity and silence, too, can be a crime.
