Afghan cricketer Zadran attacked by gunmen: Reports

Afghanistan cricketer Shapoor Zadran was reportedly attacked by a group of unidentified gunmen, who opened fire at the vehicle he was travelling in along with his brother.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, that happened here on Saturday night. Zadran was heading to his residence when the attack took place, according to a report in the Pakistani daily Dawn.

The assailants reportedly escaped. Though the motive of the attack and the identity of the attackers remained unclear, it brought back memories of the attack witnessed in Pakistan in 2009 when terrorists attacked the team bus of the visiting Sri Lankan team.

According to Khaama Press, the Afghanistan News agency which broke the news, it is not the first instance where an assassination attempt has been carried out against Zadran.

A left-arm fast bowler, Zadran is one of Afghanistan's most established cricketers on the international circuit.

He became a hero when he hit the winning runs against Scotland during their 2015 World Cup encounter in the New Zealand city of Nelson, thus giving his side their first ever victory at a major International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament.

Zadran has played 39 One-day Internationals and 27 Twenty20 Internationals for his country.

No official confirmation or details regarding the attack have been put forth yet. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is also yet to release a statement on the matter.

--IANS

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