On Saturday (October 18), the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced it would boycott its participation in the Pakistan-involved T20I Tri Series.

The Afghans were supposed to travel for the 20-over contest featuring Pakistan and Sri Lanka, scheduled between November 17 and November 29.

ACB alleged that Pakistani airstrikes were the cause of the deaths of three cricketers and five more civilians in Urgun District.

This attack occurred a few hours after a temporary peace agreement was declared to halt the cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

‘A Coward Attack By Pakistan Regime’: ACB’s Statement

After a week of attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where both nations claimed the killed of lives from each side, a 48-hour ceasefire was announced on Wednesday (October 15).

But now the Taliban, the militant group of Afghanistan, stated that Pakistan breached the peace agreement by launching new attacks.

The ACB took on its social media account and backlashed at Pakistan, stating that it was the most cowardly act despite announcing a peace agreement:

“Sad! The deepest condolences from the Afghanistan Cricket Board over the tragic death of those brave cricketers from Urgun District (Paktika Province), who became victims of the cowardly attack executed by the Pakistani regime.

Three cricketers, namely Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, along with five other fellow countrymen originating from Urgun District, were murdered. Also, seven others were severely injured in this heartbreaking incident.

These players previously travelled to Sharana (Paktika province’s capital) to take part in a casual cricket match. But they were brutally killed after flying home to Urgun,” the ACB stated.

Efforts to Keep the Late Afghan Players’ Memories Alive

The ACB official promised that the forthcoming tournaments will be named after those three players to keep their memories alive.

“Yeah! So far, we had no plans, but this would be the first time. But, we hope to host the tournaments named after these players to ensure that their memories remain alive,” the ACB official said.

This was indeed the second tri-series for Afghanistan against Pakistan this year. Earlier, these two teams faced off against each other in the 20-over tri-series contest, including the hosting nation United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well.

However, it could have been the first instance of Afghanistan playing a T20I game on Pakistani soil.

PCB Names Afghanistan Replacement For T20I Tri Series 2025

Soon after Afghanistan’s withdrawal from the forthcoming tri-series, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Zimbabwe as the official replacement to keep the tournament ongoing:

“Finally! The Zimbabwe Cricket has accepted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invitation to take part in the T20I tri-series, including Sri Lanka as well. The tournament will be staged in Lahore and Rawalpindi from 17th to 29th of November,” the PCB stated.

Pakistan’s T20I Tri Series 2025 After Afghanistan’s Boycott

The schedule for the upcoming T20I tri-series in Pakistan remains the same, with Zimbabwe taking place in Afghanistan’s fixtures. All the matches in the tri-series commence at 07.30 pm (according to local timings) / 08 pm (According to IST)

Here is a detailed schedule of the 7-match contest (including the final) illustrated below in a tabular form:

From the above schedule, it is understood that Afghanistan was supposed to play four matches in the tri-series— two against Pakistan and Sri Lanka each, ahead of the final clash.

However, with Zimbabwe replacing Afghanistan, the schedule for the upcoming contest remains intact.

A Strained Cricketing Relationship Between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Ever since Afghanistan gained test status, they have never competed against Pakistan in any of the bilateral series. Over the recent years, the cricketing relationship between these two nations has continued to get more strained.

Afghanistan was clear with its stance that its matches against Pakistan were limited only to the tri-series or high-profile events.

However, the Afghan junior teams and players have previously toured Pakistan and participated in their local tournaments as well.

Overall Verdict

Apart from ACB’s action to boycott the tri-series against Pakistan, the Afghanistan T20I captain, Rashid Khan, also expressed his disappointment on social media. The spin bowling all-rounder, having represented Lahore Qalandars since 2021, removed the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise name from his bio on X (previously known as Twitter).

Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, stated that he would lead the nation’s representatives to Doha. The main goal of these negotiations is to halt the cross-border terrorism and to bring peace between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Earlier, the Pahalgam terror attacks killed 26 innocent civilians, which further strained the political and sporting relationship with India.

Likewise, Pakistan’s attacks on Afghan civilians ignited backlashes all over the world as several users on social media supported ACB’s decision and suggested such barbaric activities should not be ignored. Overall, it is understood that Afghanistan is likely to follow the approach of the Indian cricket team to cut off all their sporting ties with Pakistan apart from their meetings in multi-nation tournaments.