Pakistan not withdrawing from series against Afghanistan

Pakistan will not pull out of their upcoming bilateral series against Afghanistan, like Australia did, with PCB chairman Najam Sethi saying that “cricket and politics should be kept separate”.

The series in March, however, will now comprise three T20Is and not ODIs and will be played at an offshore venue, with the Afghanistan and Pakistan boards sharing the revenue 50-50.

On January 12, Cricket Australia had announced its decision to withdraw from playing Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s “further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education” in Afghanistan.

When asked about PCB’s stance on the issue, Sethi said: “That is not our business and we don’t like to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. My personal stance is that politics and cricket shouldn’t be mixed up, so following that principle the series is subject to pending approvals from the Pakistan government and I think approvals will be granted.”