Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who is currently in England plying his trade for team Trent Rockets in The Hundred, is worried about the situation in his country and is unable to get his family members out of there.
No commercial flight can fly over the Afghan airspace since the Taliban took over the country on last Sunday. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has resigned from his post and left the country.
Amid the political turmoil, Rashid and several other cricketers opened up about the ordeals, advocating for a stable political environment in Afghanistan.
Today let us take some time to value our nation and never forget the sacrifices. We hope and pray for the peaceful , developed and United nation INSHALLAH #happyindependenceday 🇦🇫🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/ZbDpFS4e20
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) August 19, 2021
During the eliminator against Southern Brave on Friday, Rashid showed his support for Afghanistan by painting the country’s flag on his face and pictures of the same have gone viral.
Rashid Khan painted colours of Afghanistan Flag onto his face in #TheHundred Game pic.twitter.com/BRJdiLIV1s
— 📴 (@angeliksparks) August 21, 2021
Rashid Khan with the Afghanistan flag on his cheek – good way to support the country. pic.twitter.com/tW2zPfQsl7
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 20, 2021
په نن لوبه کې د @rashidkhan_19 پر مخ تور، سور او زرغون بیرغ، اتل او هیوادنۍ مینه 🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/8ZHpQHooKj
— Afghan Cricket Association – ACA (@ACAUK1) August 20, 2021
Rashid Khan has the Afghanistan flag painted on his cheeks tonight. Goes without saying, but it's remarkable that he's out there competing considering the situation back home. 🇦🇫💛#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/z6YNlEhFaK
— Louis Sealey (@LouisSealey) August 20, 2021
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) head of media operations – Hikmat Hassan – has said that the Taliban don’t have any issue or problem with cricket.
“The Taliban don’t have any issue or problem with cricket, and they have told us that we can continue our work as planned,” Hassan was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The official also confirmed Afghanistan’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during October-November.
“We are confident we will be able to take part and will be preparing for it over the coming weeks. I don’t think there will be a problem,” Hassan said.
