The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths “a great loss for Afghanistan’s sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family”.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was “deeply saddened and appalled” by the “tragic deaths of three young and promising Afghan cricketers” in an air strike that also “claimed the lives of several civilians”.
“The ICC stands in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and echoes their grief,” it said in a statement, adding that it “strongly condemns this act of violence”.
The attack came hours after a temporary truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan was due to expire following days of deadly clashes on the border between the two nations. Dozens of casualties have been reported.
Pakistan said it had targeted Afghan militants in the air strike and that at least 70 combatants had been killed.
Pakistan’s Minister of Information Attaullah Tarar said claims that the attack targeted civilians are “false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan”.
He rejected the ICC’s “selective, biased and premature comment”, adding it had not cited any “independent verification to substantiate these claims”.