CWC 2023: Ibrahim Zadran dedicates his POTM award to Afghan refugees forcefully removed from Pakistan

After contesting in several nail-biting thrillers in the past few years against Pakistan, Afghanistan finally managed to edge past their Asian rivals as they beat them by eight wickets in Match 22 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Monday, October 23. Ibrahim Zadran starred with the bat for the Afghans as he played a magnificent innings of 87 (113) to help his side chase down 283 in 49 overs.

The 21-year-old was deservedly awarded Player of the Match for his match-winning performance. While speaking at the post-match interview, the opening batter dedicated his award to the Afghan refugees who were sent back home to Pakistan.

"I would like to dedicate this POTM award to the people who were sent back from Pakistan to Afghanistan,” said Gurbaz in the post-match presentation.

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Notably, the Pakistan Government did a crackdown on thousands of Afghan refugees residing in their country forcing them to leave the nation by November 1 or else face deportation. As a result, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals left Islamabad.

The move came in despite calls from the United States to allow entry for Afghan refugees seeking international protection in their neighbouring nations to protect them from persecution and other abuse by Taliban rulers.

Afghanistan register their third win in ODI World Cup history

Meanwhile, Afghanistan registered just their third win in the ODI World Cup and the first one over Pakistan in the format. Earlier in the day, after opting to bat first, Pakistan posted a good score of 282/7 in their allotted 50 overs riding on captain Babar Azam’s knock of 74 (92).

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In reply, Afghanistan got off to a remarkable start by their openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53) and Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113) who added 130 runs for the first wicket in just 127 balls. Following their dismissals, captain Hasmatullah Shahidi (48* off 45) and Rahmat Shah (77* off 84) took their team home in 49 overs making them register a historic win over Pakistan.