Uncertainty, distress for Afghan cricketers after Taliban takeover

Cricket was picked up in Pakistan by Afghan refugees who then seeded it in their home country

Afghanistan's national cricket team started training in Kabul for their next tour just days after the capital fell to the Taliban

The crack of bat on ball echoes around Kabul's international stadium as Afghanistan's top cricketers get in some practice -- just days after the country fell to the Taliban.

The calm of the empty stadium is a surreal contrast to scenes just a few kilometres north, where tens of thousands of Afghans at Kabul airport are desperately trying to flee on evacuation flights.

"The fear is there in their eyes, in their voices, even in their messages," pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq said of his teammates in Kabul during a BBC radio interview broadcast at the weekend.

The return of the Taliban has sparked widespread fear in Afghanistan and in the international community, reviving memories of their brutal first stint in power from 1996 to 2001 when they imposed a harsh version of Islamic law.

Sports the Taliban did allow were strictly controlled, and were only for men to play and watch.

That has done little to ease the fears of many players, for whom the fall of the country is about a lot more than the sport.

"We need your support. We want peace."

Cricket was barely known in the nation until the early 2000s, and its explosive rise in popularity was linked with conflict -- the sport was picked up in Pakistan by Afghan refugees who then seeded it in their home country.

In the last 20 years, it has also emerged as a powerful symbol of national unity in a country riven by civil war and ethnic conflict.

"It's more than a game for Afghanistan's people."

Afghan cricketers marked it by tweeting pictures and emojis of the tri-colour national flag, which the Taliban have replaced with their white banner in areas under their control.

- Difficult to focus -

The family of Rashid Khan -- Afghanistan's biggest cricket star -- can't leave the country, according to former England star Kevin Pietersen, who spoke to him last week during a tournament in Britain.

There are positive signs. 

Despite the uncertainty, Afghanistan's cricket authorities had hoped their upcoming ODI series against Pakistan, to be played in Sri Lanka next month, would go ahead.

Pakistan's Cricket Board said it had accepted Afghanistan's request to delay the series "due to players' mental health issues, disruption in flight operations in Kabul and other issues".

"You forget about it for a minute or two to focus on cricket but it jumps into your mind again," he told the BBC.

bur-qan/fox/sst/ft

...

Originally published as Uncertainty, distress for Afghan cricketers after Taliban takeover