Rashid Khan prays for 'peaceful, united' Afghanistan on Independence Day amid Taliban rule

Afghanistan's star player Rashid Khan turned to social media on Thursday to commemorate his country's 102nd independence day. In his post, Rashid Khan appealed for a "peaceful" and "unified" Afghanistan, referring to the disarray that has resulted from the hated Taliban's recent takeover of the country. This comes after Taliban insurgents opened fire on civilians hoisting the national flag on the streets of Kabul on Wednesday. Rashid can be seen kissing the Afghan national flag in one of the pictures that he shared along with the post. 

'Never forget the sacrifices'

Rashid Khan is presently playing for Trent Rockets in the inaugural edition of The Hundred in the United Kingdom. He, along with Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, are the only members of the Afghan national cricket squad who are not currently in the country. On Monday, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen revealed that Rashid is worried about his family's safety in Afghanistan and wants them out of the country as soon as possible. 

However, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Hamid Shinwari has said the Taliban has no problem with cricket and that the players and their family members are safe in the country. Shinwari said the Taliban "love" and "support" cricket and would not interfere in the board's activities. Shinwari said the Taliban had supported cricket since the beginning of the sport in Afghanistan and that they never "interfered" even when the group was in power between 1996 and 2001.

Afghanistan crisis

The situation in Afghanistan is tense, especially after the Taliban besieged the country's capital and deposed Ashraf Ghani's democratically elected government. The months-long battle between the Taliban and the government forces had started after former US President Donald Trump declared his decision to withdraw American soldiers from the war-torn country.

The situation worsened when the newly-elected US President Joe Biden, who was widely expected to overturn Trump's order, stunned everyone by sticking with his predecessor's decision to remove troops from Afghanistan. As the American troops were exiting Afghanistan, the Taliban emerged victorious by taking over the majority of the country's provincial capitals, thus re-establishing its rule in the country after 20 years. 

Image: ICC/RashidKhan/Twitter