Afghanistan is currently going through what is possibly its worst phase as the Taliban have taken over the country. Cries for help and horrific videos have flooded social media in the past few days as the Afghanistan government collapsed very swiftly.
In light of the situation, Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan, who had earlier appealed to world leaders for peace, shared another message on Twitter.
In the tweet he wrote, "Today let us take some time to value our nation and never forget the sacrifices. We hope and pray for the peaceful , developed and United nation INSHALLAH #happyindependenceday".
He also shared a picture of him kissing the flag of Afghanistan and a flag drawn on his face while he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League. Rashid plays for Barbados Tridents and this year he is likely to miss the tournament.
This is not the first time Rashid has tweeted about the unfolding horrors in Afghanistan and along with him players like Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shinwari have also called for peace.
Not just that, former Afghanistan footballer Khalida Popal, who is based in Denmark, has urged female athletes to erase their social media accounts and any trail of their sporting careers.
“I have been encouraging to take down social media channels, take down photos, escape and hide themselves,” Popal was quoted as saying by AP.
“It breaks my heart because all these years we have worked to raise the visibility of women and now I’m telling my women in Afghanistan to shut up and disappear. Their lives are in danger.”
Rashid and the Afghanistan cricket team are expected to be part of the T20 World Cup in October-November in UAE and Oman. The country's Tokyo Paralympic campaign though could not take off as the athletes could not leave on time due to the ongoing situation.
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