Pakistan boycotts Afghan cricket league

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan on Friday said it would not allow its players to participate in Afghanistan’s domestic cricket league next month.

The move comes a day after Afghan Cricket Board cancelled a scheduled series of friendly matches with Pakistan in a protest against the deadly suicide attack in capital Kabul that killed 90 people and injured another 400 on Wednesday.

Kabul accused a Taliban affiliated group -- Haqqani Network -- and Pakistan’s top spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of plotting the deadly attack. Islamabad, however, denied the allegations.

Several Pakistani cricket stars have been contracted by different franchise to compete in Shpageeza Cricket League, starting from July 18 in Kabul.

But Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Friday that it would not issue the required no-objection certificates to its players for the fifth edition of the Afghan cricket league.

“The PCB announces that none of the players and officials contracted to Afghanistan T20 league would be issued NOCs (no-objection certificates)," the statement said.

"The PCB has always encouraged the development of cricket in Afghanistan and millions of Afghan refugees were first introduced to the game in Pakistan. Over the years, the PCB helped cricketers in Afghanistan develop their expertise and an entire generation of Afghan national players honed their cricketing skills in Pakistan," it added.