HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Zimbabwe has ordered nine of its cricketers playing in a Twenty20 league in Afghanistan to return home following a deadly suicide bombing outside a stadium while a game was going on.
Zimbabwe Cricket says the nine, which include test players Elton Chigumbura, Hamilton Masakadza, Sikandar Raza and Richmond Mutumbami, are on their way home.
ZC revoked the no objection certificates it issued to the players to allow them to go to Afghanistan. It says “ZC will not under any circumstances compromise on matters of player safety.”
Afghan security personnel arrive after a deadly suicide attack outside a cricket stadium, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. The bomber struck outside the stadium during a match in Afghanistan’s capital Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Officials said three people were killed and 12 wounded in the blast on Wednesday outside the Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground in the capital Kabul. A match being played at the time was on a scheduled break and continued without delay.
All six teams in the Shpageeza Cricket League have foreign players, mainly from Zimbabwe, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Afghan firefighters work at the site of a suicide attack outside a cricket stadium, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. The bomber struck outside a cricket stadium during a match in Afghanistan’s capital Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Afghan firefighters work at the site of a suicide attack outside a cricket stadium, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. The bomber struck outside a cricket stadium during a match in Afghanistan’s capital Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Mis-E-Ainak Knights’ Vusi Sibanda plays a shot during the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) cricket match against Boost Defenders in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. A suicide bomber struck outside the cricket stadium during a match in Afghanistan’s capital Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Afghan cricket fans celebrate during a match between Mis-E-Ainak Knights’ and Boost Defenders, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017. A suicide bomber struck outside the cricket stadium during a match in Afghanistan’s capital Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 12 others, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Speenghar Tigers’ Elton Chigumbura, right, run during the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) cricket match in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
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