Real Reason Why Pakistan is Playing Tri-series with Zimbabwe Rather than Afghanistan

ByAnupam Pandey,SportsCafe Editor

Yesterday at 1:48 PM

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Afghanistan pulled out of the tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, due to the tensions across borders. Soon after their withdrawal, Zimbabwe has now been announced as the replacement for the same.

Real Reason Why Pakistan is Playing Tri-series with Zimbabwe Rather than Afghanistan.

The tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have also reached the game. Taking a look at the rapid exchanges across borders, various lives have been lost across both countries. However, Afghanistan has decided to step up for its players and country, as they withdrew themselves

The tri-series was scheduled to start next month, but Afghanistan took immediate decision for withdrawal. This allowed Zimbabwe to replace Afghanistan from the tri-series. The series is set to start from 17 November, and will take place between Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka.

1. Death of Afghanistani Cricketers

Afghanistan and Pakistan had engaged in a war over the past few days. It all started from 9 October 2025, when Pakistan carried out air strikes on Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad, and Paktika. The situation escalated with Afghanistan giving its replies to the strikes, which further increased tensions across the borders.

More casualties took place in Afghanistan as the days passed by. On 17 October, Pakistan carried out some more air strikes on two districts, which were Barnal and Urgun. These strikes went on to kill at least 10 people, leaving many more injured. The loss of life had saddened the country,

Due to the air strikes carried out by Pakistan in Urgun, three young cricketers Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon, were dead. All three players were earlier playing a match at the Paktika province, after which they were supposed to return to Urgun. When they returned, the strikes got them in a gathering, which killed them along with five more and injured many.

After this, Afghanistan Cricket Board announced that it has withdrawn from the T20I tri-series which will be taking place in Pakistan. The ACB considered the loss of young cricketers as unbearable to the sports community of the country. This incident not only shook the citizens and players of Afghanistan, but players all across the world.

2. Players Worldwide Pay Condolences

The terrible attack in Pakistan, which killed three young cricketers, has attracted a lot of attention around the world. Rashid Khan, one of the best Afghanistani bowlers, reacted to the same and paid condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the attacks. Moreover, the decision of ACB to withdraw from the series against Pakistan.

Rashid Khan also went on to remove Lahore Qalandars X account from his bio. This shows he has completely boycotted the team and even the PSL tournament. Another Afghanistani cricketer, Gulbadin Naib, reacted to this incident, by Pakistan on them.

With ICC taking note of this matter, the Chairman, Jay Shah, also tweeted about the same. He paid condolences to the families of young cricketers, whose dreams were cut short. However, he didn't mention the name of Pakistan in his tweet. Fans are also demanding strict action by the ICC against the PCB.

, paying their condolences to the families. This shows that the loss of young cricketers has triggered the players worldwide.

3. Zimbabwe Replaces Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Cricket Board decided to pull out of the tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Since the series was supposed to be played in Pakistan, this decision came to pay tribute to the young cricketers who lost their lives. But the Pakistan Cricket Board had to a new team to replace Afghanistan.

For this, they went towards Zimbabwe after reaching out to all the other teams. They have accepted the same and have now replaced Afghanistan in the tri-series. Before that, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will be going against each other in a one-off Test match, starting from 20 October.

4. Tri-series Schedule

The schedule of the tri-series remains unchanged, despite Afghanistan's ruling out of the tournament. With the PCB finding a replacement for them soon, it allowed the series to take place as it was. Here is a complete schedule of the tri-series which will be taking place in Pakistan:

17 November 2025: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Rawalpindi
19 November 2025: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Rawalpindi
22 November 2025: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lahore
23 November 2025: Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Lahore
25 November 2025: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Lahore
27 November 2025: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lahore
29 November 2025: Final

With the series starting on 17 November, it might not have the same spark as it had before the war between the two countries.