Gulbadin Naib responds to Tim Paine’s comments on Afghanistan; deletes the tweet later

In response to a recent interview given by Tim Paine, where he spoke about the current situation in Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib drafted a strong statement. He had posted his statement in the form of an image on Twitter, but the not-so-welcoming Twitterati perhaps forced him to take it down.

Cricket Australia took a bold step recently to reiterate their position on the development of women’s Cricket, one that sparked mixed responses from across the globe. The Australian captain, in an interview with SEN Radio Show, extended his full support to his board and spoke in favour of their decision. He also expressed concern about the participation of Afghanistan, stating there isn’t any clarity on them arriving.

“We’ve heard nothing from the ICC, which is fascinating given there is a T20 World Cup in just over a month’s time. I’d imagine it’s impossible [for Afghanistan to take part] if teams are pulling out of playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores. How a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned event is going to be very, very hard to see,” Paine said.

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“Sports should be separated from Politics” – Gulbadin Naib

In a passionate statement given in response to Paine, Naib said that Cricket is now the most popular sport in Afghanistan and reiterated their right to play not just in this World Cup, but all ICC events. He also went on to add that Sports should remain independent from politics and suggested Paine to refrain from giving “Aggressive statements resulting in their isolation”.

This is what he Tweeted, tagging ICC, Afghanistan Cricket Board, and the Australian captain Tim Paine.

However, Naib deleted the tweet a little time later, but it remained online long enough for social media to capture screenshots. Naib will be leading the Afghanistan side in the upcoming T20 World Cup, where they managed direct qualification into the Super 12s courtesy. They are in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, alongside New Zealand, India, Pakistan and two other teams that will make their way through the qualification groups.