Ibrahim Zadran dedicates Player of the Match award to Afghans facing expulsion from Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s opening batter Ibrahim Zadran, who won the Player of the Match award for scoring 87 runs against Pakistan, said on Monday he wanted to dedicate his swashbuckling innings to Afghan nationals who have been asked by the Pakistani authorities to leave in recent weeks due to security reasons.
Zadran made the statement at the post-match ceremony after his team stunned Pakistan with an eight-wicket victory at the ICC World Cup 2023, making it even more difficult for the Green Shirts to get into the semifinals of the tournament.
This was Afghanistan’s first-ever one-day victory over Pakistan as they chased down a 283-run target with an over to spare.
“I wanted to go out there with a positive mind and positive intent and I did it,” Zadran said in his brief interview while also paying tribute to fellow opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz while pointing out they had been “playing together since the under-16 days.”
“I am feeling very glad for myself, for my country,” he added. “And I will say I want to dedicate this man of the match [award] to those people who have been sent back from Pakistan to Afghanistan.”
Pakistani officials have said in recent weeks that they want to address the issue of illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan nationals, and enhance border security amid an escalation in militant attacks in different parts of the country.
Caretaker Interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti said earlier this month that Afghan nationals were involved in 14 out of 24 suicide bombings since January while explaining the rationale behind the government’s decision to warn all illegal immigrants to leave the country by November 1 or face forcible expulsion.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott also said on Monday the “sky’s the limit” for his team after it handed a crushing defeat to Pakistan.
“I think the two opening batters that we have are very, very exceptionally talented young players and the sky’s the limit for both of them,” the former England batsman Trott noted.
“They’re different types of players and my message to them is just keep growing your own game and play your own way,” he added.