Rashid Khan to boycott PSL after Pakistani airstrike kills 3 Afghan cricketers? Star spinner act raises speculations

Rashid Khan has might opt out of the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after the star Afghanistan spinner dropped Lahore Qalandars' name from his social media bio. Rashid's action comes in after three young Afghanistan cricketers were killed during Pakistan's fresh airstrike on Friday in the Paktika Province near the border.

The three local players were identified as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon. Soon after the news of deaths of the three Afghanistan cricketers came into light, Rashid slammed Pakistan's “cowardly” act and called it immoral and barbaric to target the civilians.

“It is absolutely immoral and barbaric to target civilian infrastructure. These unjust and unlawful actions represent a grave violation of human rights and must not go unnoticed,” Rashid wrote on his X account.

Although an official confirmation is yet to come, Rashid's act of dropping Lahore Qalandars' name from his bio has sparked speculations of him boycotting the league.

Rashid Khan backs ACB's move to withdraw from tri-series

Meanwhile, Rashid has backed the Afghanistan Cricket Board's (ACB) move to pull out of the tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka in November. Soon after the news of death of three cricketers came out, ACB released a statement, strongly condemning Pakistan's act.

“In this heartbreaking incident, three players (Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon) alongside 5 other fellow countrymen from Urgun District were martyred, and seven others were injured. The players had earlier traveled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to participate in a friendly cricket match. After returning home to Urgun, they were targeted during a gathering,” ACB said in a statement.

“In response of this tragic incident and as a gesture of respect to the victims, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has decided to withdraw from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, scheduled to be played in late November,” it added.

Rashid, in support of ACB, wrote, “In light of the precious innocent souls lost, I welcome the ACB’s decision of withdrawing from upcoming fixtures against Pakistan. I stand with our people at this difficult time, our national dignity must come before all else.”

Rashid Khan's record in PSL

Having made his PSL debut in 2020, Rashid has only played for Lahore Qalandars in the tournament so far. In three seasons, Rashid has played a total of 28 matches and took 44 wickets with a best of 5/20. His best PSL season came in 2023 edition when the off-spinner took 20 wickets.