Morne van Wyk would return to Afghanistan despite suicide bomber

Proteas and Dolphins wicketkeeper/batsman Morne van Wyk says he would probably return to Afghanistan to play cricket in the future to play cricket should another opportunity present itself.

Van Wyk and Cameron Delport had their No Objection Certificates (NOC) revoked by Cricket South Africa (CSA)‚ forcing them to return home after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb outside the stadium they were playing in Afghanistan’s Shpageeza T20 League last week.

Van Wyk‚ who has represented South Africa in T20s and ODIs‚ was playing for Mis Ainak Knights against Delport’s Boost Defenders when a bomb went off outside the Alokozay Kabul International Stadium killing three people.

The other South African who had to return home for security reasons was former Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs‚ who was coaching the Speenghar Tigers in the competition.

“It is hard to say but I probably would go back in future‚” Van Wyk said.

“Our NOCs were revoked by CSA based of the situation but the tournament has gone on and at that stage it was not my decision to come back home. It is also hard for me to say whether I would have preferred to stay on because the decision was taken out of my hands for good reasons.

“In a sense you can completely understand CSA’s point of view because they look after our interests.”

Van Wyk added that he feels sorry for the people of Afghanistan where sport is a tool that will go a long way in solving the political disputes in that country.

“At the same time it is quite sad because as sports people we can carry the message of peace in times like these and it is becoming tough for boards and authorities to deal with‚ because London has probably had more attacks this year than Kabul. Hopefully it is something that will be sorted out‚” he said.

Van Wyk said he was pleasantly surprised at the good standards of the cricket facilities in Kabul and their beautiful city.

“The city Kabul was brilliant‚ we stayed in a good hotel and people were hospitable.

“It’s sad for the locals that it turned out this way because the tournament was well supported. The stadiums were always full for all the matches and especially now towards the end because as a show of solidarity‚ the Afghan people really made an effort to support after the bomb blast‚” he said.