In a nation where joy is fleeting, cricket remains Afghanistan’s only pure expression of joy.
Yet, for Abdul Latif Ayoubi, Sunday, 19 October, was not a day for celebration. It was a day of mourning. The former cricketer turned team owner watched his side — Kabul Zalmi — take on the Kabul Knight Riders in the semi-final of the Kabul Premier League. Among those competing were national team players such as Qais Ahmad. But one name was missing: Kabeer Agha.
The young and promising all-rounder will not feature in Ayoubi's team ever again, for he, alongside his teammates Sibghatullah and Mohammad Haroon, were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on 17 October.
What Exactly Happened On 17 October?
Kabeer had travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan, to play a club-level cricket match. It was an opportunity to impress local cricket administrators, and impress he did. Brought into the bowling when his team was in a precarious position, he picked three wickets to earn a victory for his team, and the player of the match award for himself.
Following the triumph, teammate Mira Jan suggested celebrating the win with dinner at a relative’s home nearby. What began as an evening of joy turned into one of Afghanistan’s darkest nights. Minutes before food was served, Pakistani airstrikes struck the house, killing Kabeer, Haroon, and Sibghatullah, and leaving Mira Jan critically wounded.
The locals rushed to rescue the cricketers, when a second airstrike resulted in even more deaths. Eventually, 13 people lost their lives — including a woman and a child — and 17 others were left wounded.
Afghan Academy Sends Pakistani Coaches Back, Urges ACB To Follow Suit
Cricket has not stopped in Afghanistan, but for Ayoubi, who has been coaching Kabeer since he was kid, life has come to a standstill. Before the Kabul Premier League semi-final, players recited Surah Al-Fatiha and wore black armbands. But no gesture could bring peace to Ayoubi, who had lost one of his brightest protégés.
Taking his cue from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which has withdrawn from next month’s tri-series against Pakistan, Ayoubi made a decision of his own.
Speaking exclusively with The Quint, he says:
I have three Pakistani coaches in my academy. In all honestly, they were good coaches. But what happened to my player, Kabeer, is unacceptable. Cricket is our only source of happiness in Afghanistan, and Pakistan is trying to snatch our happiness away. We will never forgive them for it. ACB has decided to cancel the tour to Pakistan, and I have decided to cancel the contracts of the Pakistani coaches. All three have been sent back home. You cannot have ties with a nation that is killing our young cricketers.Abdul Latif Ayoubi, Owner of Ayobi Cricket Academy in Kabul
The move may only be the beginning.
This is only the start. I conveyed my decision to the ACB, and they have supported me. We have Pakistani coaches in Afghanistan’s National Cricket Academy (NCA) as well, and very soon, they will be met with the same fate. We have asked for Rana Naved Ul Hasan’s contract to be terminated at the earliest. Cricket, for Aghans, has always been a tool of peace. But it is about time we respond to the barbaric attacks from Pakistan. We don’t want to have any association with them.Abdul Latif Ayoubi, Owner of Ayobi Cricket Academy in Kabul
Pressure Mounting On ACB To Boycott Pakistan
Cricket, once a bridge between the two nations, may now become one of the earliest victims of their deepening hostility, as has been the case between Pakistan and India.
Sources within Afghanistan’s cricket circles told The Quint that calls have intensified for a boycott of Pakistan — similar to India’s approach — restricting engagements only to ICC tournaments, and ending Pakistani involvement in Afghan leagues, be it coaches or cricketers.
The ACB has released a video documenting the ill-fated night, which is accompanied by a stern press statement:
It was the night of October 17; silence reigned everywhere, and only the moonlight softly touched the hills of Urgun District in Paktika and the gentle folds of nature. The players, exhausted from their match, were returning home, joyfully discussing the positives and negatives of the day’s game. They were tired, yet happy, for they had won that day’s match. Little did they know that these hopes and dreams would soon become the last of their lives, that these would be their final moments on earth, along with several other innocent civilians. Then it happened. Drones, operated by the hands of the heartless, hovered over the humble homes of Paktika’s poor civilians and eventually targeted those innocent souls who had been striving to build a better life, those who had dreamed of raising Afghanistan’s name high in the world. Suddenly, a terrifying sound tore through the silence, and the bright moonlight was swallowed by clouds of smoke and gunpowder. In just a few moments, living humans were consumed by flames, and darkness prevailed. The only sounds left were the groans of the wounded, and nothing more. This is the tragic story of the martyred cricketers and innocent civilians of Paktika, who lost their lives that night in an airstrike carried out by the Pakistani military regime.Afghanistan Cricket Board
Outpouring Emotions From Afghan Cricketers
On this occasion, members of the current squad like Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib have also voiced their opinions.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of civilian lives in the recent Pakistani aerial strikes on Afghanistan. A tragedy that claimed the lives of women, children, and aspiring young cricketers who dreamed of representing their nation on the world stage.Rashid Khan
We are deeply saddened by the cowardly military attack in Argun, Paktika, that martyred innocent civilians and fellow cricketers. This brutal act by the Pakistani army is an assault on our people, pride, and independence.but it will never break the Afghan spirit.Gulbadin Naib
Asghar Afghan, former captain of the team, publicly called for suspension of all cricketing ties with Pakistan.
I hope the decision to suspended Cricket matches and ALL other sport activities with Pakistan continue (which have long been used as soft power tools in diplomacy) until Afghanistan’s sovereignty is respected and the atmosphere for sport is restored. Sport has always carried a message of peace and that message cannot thrive amid military escalations. Afghanistan and Afghans are our priority and we stand by that, No matter the cost.Asghar Afghan
ICC & BCCI Express Solidarity, Pakistan Refute Claims
Following the airstrikes, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have shared solidarity with Afghanistan’s cricketers and board.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is deeply saddened and appalled by the tragic deaths of three young and promising Afghan cricketers, Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, who lost their lives in a recent airstrike in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. The three young men had returned home after participating in a friendly cricket match when they were killed in an attack that also claimed the lives of several civilians. The ICC strongly condemns this act of violence that has robbed families, communities, and the cricketing world of three bright talents whose only ambition was to play the sport they loved. The ICC stands in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and echoes their grief.International Cricket Council
The BCCI stands in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), the cricket fraternity, and the families of the departed players during this moment of profound grief and condemns this ghastly and unwarranted attack. The loss of innocent lives, particularly those of promising sportspersons, is deeply distressing and a matter of great concern. The BCCI conveys its heartfelt sympathies to the people of Afghanistan and shares in their pain and loss.BCCI
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, however, have refuted the claims.
Pakistan, a prime victim of cross-border terrorism, rejects the ICC’s selective, biased and premature comment that advances a disputed allegation, as established, that three “Afghan cricketers” died in an “airstrike”. The ICC has cited no independent verification to substantiate these claims. Pakistan strongly rejects the characterization and contests the ICC’s claim and call for immediate correction.Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Pakistan
The Dreams That Were Lost
Kabeer’s father recalled his final conversation with his son.
He kept joining his team for cricket matches even though I told him to join us while we were building new rooms in our house. I believe destiny cannot be changed, but when someone targets you in your own home, despite you being totally harmless, it hurts. It is extremely cruel, and it is against the Islamic law and religion.Jannat Mir Agha, deceased Kabeer Agha's father
Sibghatullah had already caught the eye of selectors with his pace. Haroon, who dreamed of playing alongside Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, was studying civil engineering. Kabeer, a baccalaureate graduate, had chosen cricket over comfort, ditching the construction of his house for the construction of his own dreams of becoming an international cricketer.
For now, cricketing ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at a standstill. And from what The Quint has learned, it is unlikely to get better any time soon. Mira Jan, who dearly wishes he did not invite his friends for dinner, continues his battle for survival at a hospital.
(With inputs from Afghan journalist Ibrahim Momand, and other unnamed sources whose identities have been withheld to protect their privacy).