Afghanistan Under-19 players have sought asylum from England after they landed in the country on their way back to their homeland. The stars of the U-19 team arrived in England after finishing fourth in the U-19 World Cup; Afghanistan's highest ever finish in an International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament at any level. In the recent period, the political power of Afghanistan is led by the Taliban, an Islamic Emirate in the country.
The country's recent political instability has led to many people migrating to foreign nations seeking asylum. The names of the players are still unknown, but they are joined by staff members who are also trying to stay away from the country. Political activities since 2020 have tarnished the reputation of Afghanistan leading to criticism from all over the world. It is believed that players from the current team are worried about Human Rights violations and breach of their freedom.
Afghanistan narrowly lost to Australia in a tight U-19 third-place playoff by two wickets. Scoring 201, Australia's U-19 team found it tough in the match to get over the line as Nangeyalia Kharote (35/3), Noor Ahmed (43/2) and Shahidullah Hasani (44/2) all were at their fluent best, but couldn't guide their team to victory. Earlier, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai scored 81 of 79 deliveries as Afghanistan went in excess of 200.
The U-19 World Cup was a success story for the Afghanistan side. Sulaiman Safi ended as their highest scorer in the tournament with 227 runs at an average of 37.83 with a best score of 111 in six matches at the tournament. In the bowling department, Kharote ended as their highest wicket-taker with 11 scalps to his name and best figures of 30/4 against the West Indies. Izharullaq Naveed and Noor Ahmad also ended with double figures in the bowling department with 10 wickets each.
While the stars of the nation search for asylum, their performances didn't go unnoticed. In six matches at the tournament, they had luck on their side against Sri Lanka in quarter-final as they won by four runs before the playoff defeat to Australia. The only other defeat Afghanistan faced was against Pakistan in the group stage.
