Afghanistan’s ODI series against Pakistan postponed to 2022

After talks between the two boards concluded that logistical challenges were making it difficult for the Afghanistan contingent to travel to Sri Lanka, and the situation in Afghanistan would not have left their players in a good mental space, the three-match ODI series against Pakistan has been postponed indefinitely. Both boards will aim to reschedule the series in 2022, according to the PCB.

Hamid Shinwari, the CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), revealed that the series was attempted to be moved to Pakistan, but that the series was ultimately postponed due to the situation in Afghanistan.

Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, no commercial planes are flying out of Kabul, and Sri Lanka issued a 10-day curfew on Friday, two days after the country recorded 3793 new Covid-19 cases and the country’s highest-ever single-day death toll of 187. The Afghan delegation was meant to drive by road to Pakistan, then fly to Dubai, and finally on to Colombo for the series, but the circuitous route is causing logistical issues due to the Covid-19 rules.

The tour’s 17-member Afghan team met in Kabul last week to train in the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover of the nation. Pakistan, on the other hand, has postponed the announcement of their squad, which was initially scheduled on August 21, due to a lack of certainty surrounding the tour. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Saqlain Mushtaq began supervising a pre-season training for Pakistan’s 26 white-ball players at Lahore’s High Performance Centre.Only that Pakistan’s four best all-rounders, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Hasan Ali, would be rested for the series in order to manage their workload ahead of the T20 World Cup, was known.

The Taliban have stated that they will not interfere with Afghanistan’s largest sporting accomplishment in recent years, men’s cricket. The fate of the women’s programme, on the other hand, is still unknown.