Bomb dropping back home worries Afghanistan cricketers

Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan may be feeling privileged to be a part of the IPL but they had a nervous evening on Thursday when news of a bomb been dropped in Afghanistan broke out which prompted them to immediately get in touch with their families.

Both play for the same franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rashid has already impressed many with his smart bowling and is one of the leading bowlers of his franchise. Batsmen have failed to pick his googly and mostly his wickets have come as a leg-before wicket.

The U.S dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb from an MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district Nangarhar province. Rashid, who hails from Jalalabad, confirmed that everything was okay back home and Kabul-based Nabi said likewise.

“Everyone is safe, all is fine,” is how Nabi responded to Sportstar’s text message late on Thursday night. The bombing happened just outside the city, close to the border of Pakistan, hence there wasn’t any danger.

“The bomb was dropped out of the city. Our families are okay,” Nabi texted from Kolkata, where he is travelling with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, for its IPL game against Kolkata Knight Riders.

A lot of Afghan cricketers hail from Nangarhar, including star cricketer Samiullah Shinwari though he now resides in capital Kabul, but might still have relatives based in his hometown. He remained unavailable to confirm their safety.

Noted Afghan cricket writer Ibrahim Momand did not have any information too about the well-being of the cricketers. “As of now, there is no such information. Even though a lot of cricketers hail from that region, most of them have either shifted to Kabul or have moved to bigger towns,” Momand told to sportstar.

“The bombing happened at around 7 o’clock in the evening, and since the area is on the fringes, it is difficult to get any information right away. Things would be clear in a day or two,” Momand said.

The chief coach of the national cricket team Lalchand Rajput, who is in Mumbai these days, also didn’t have any idea on the latest development. On contacting the Afghanistan Cricket Board, one of the associates too said he wasn’t sure what the current position was.

“We have no idea about the situation in Achin district. We are not in a position to comment,” a very senior ACB official told this publication.

We all hope that all is well in the country and there isn’t any causality.