Due to this attack, the match had to be stopped for a while. The players were taken inside the bunker. After clearing the area, the match resumed. It was told by the Afghanistan Cricket Board that all players, support staff and foreigners are safe. A top UN official, Ramiz Alkabarov, was also present at the stadium. The UN has condemned it in its statement calling it a ‘brutal attack’.
The video of this incident is becoming increasingly viral on social media. There was a lot of panic in the stands after the blast. Batting first, Zalmi scored 159 for 5 in 20 overs. Due to the halt of the match, Dragon got the target of 94 runs in 10 overs according to the Duckworth-Lewis rule. Daulat Zadran, Karim Janat, apart from themselves, won the match by losing one wicket in 17 balls.
The league started on 18 July
The Shapeeja Cricket League Cricket League was started on 18 July. This is the first major cricket tournament since the Taliban took over the country. Many prominent players from Afghanistan are also participating in this. Aftab Alam, who plays for Afghanistan, is captaining the Band-e-Amir Dragon. On the other hand, the command of Pamir Zalmi is in the hands of Shapoor Zadran. Both are international cricketers.
Apart from these, Daulat Zadran and Karim Janat playing in this match also play international cricket. Afghanistan’s leading leg-spinner Rashid Khan is also a part of the Dragon team but was not playing the match. The final match is to be played on 5 August.