ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs AFG: Why Afghanistan Cricketers Are Wearing Black Armbands?

The Afghanistan players are playing with black armbands in their second ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash against India today to mourn the victims of a massive earthquakes back home that causing caused extensive damage to life and property, reportedly leaving 1000 people dead in their wake.

The Indian and Afghan players also observed a minute’s silence before the customary national anthems after the match toss in New Delhi to pay tribute to the victims.

ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets

An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck the Heart province on Saturday and was followed by a series of aftershocks.

Another earthquake has struck north-western Afghanistan on Wednesday causing further damage to life and property. As per reports, around 80 people have been injured and 700 homes were flattened in Chahak village which escaped the impact of the weekend earthquakes.

The Taliban government initially reported that over 2,000 people were killed following the series of earthquakes during the weekend. However, they have revised the death toll to around 1,000.

“We have over 1,000 people martyred from the first incident,” Public Health minister Qalandar Ebad told reporters in Kabul.

Afghanistan star Rashid Khan had earlier announced he will be contributing his Cricket World Cup match fee to help those impacted by the natural calamity.

“I learned with great sadness about the tragic consequences of the earthquake that struck the western provinces (Herat, Farah, and Badghis) of Afghanistan,” Rashid wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“I am donating all of my #CWC23 match fees to help the affected people. Soon, we will be launching a fundraising campaign to call upon those who can support the people in need,” he added.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has also announced it will be contributing AFN 2 million to support the victims.

“The ACB Leadership & board members have decided to donate AFN 2 million to support earthquake victims in Herat Province. The ACB staff and national players are also collecting aids, which will be distributed to the affected families in an organized manner,” ACB said in a post on X.