<p>Unknown gunmen dragged the father of Afghanistan's cricket captain from his car on the outskirts of Jalalabad city and have taken him hostage, officials said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mohammad Nabi, who took over the captaincy of the team in March, confirmed that his father, Khobai Isakhel, had been kidnapped in the eastern province of Nangarhar yesterday.<br />"I have no idea who the kidnappers might be, they have not contacted me," Nabi told AFP, declining to give any more details.<br /><br />Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial government, said: "Yesterday at around 10:00 am, unknown armed man seized him from his car. No trace of him has yet been found."<br /><br />Kidnapping is rife in Afghanistan's major cities, with criminal gangs demanding large ransoms for the release of hostages.<br /><br />Nabi, 28, an all-rounder who took up the game while living in a refugee camp in Pakistan, became captain of Afghanistan in March before the Intercontinental Cup in the United Arab Emirates.<br /><br />Cricket has become one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan since it was introduced by refugees returning after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.<br /><br />Afghanistan became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and in 2009 it attained one-day status. Its ambition now is to qualify for the 2015 World Cup.</p>
<p>Unknown gunmen dragged the father of Afghanistan's cricket captain from his car on the outskirts of Jalalabad city and have taken him hostage, officials said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Mohammad Nabi, who took over the captaincy of the team in March, confirmed that his father, Khobai Isakhel, had been kidnapped in the eastern province of Nangarhar yesterday.<br />"I have no idea who the kidnappers might be, they have not contacted me," Nabi told AFP, declining to give any more details.<br /><br />Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial government, said: "Yesterday at around 10:00 am, unknown armed man seized him from his car. No trace of him has yet been found."<br /><br />Kidnapping is rife in Afghanistan's major cities, with criminal gangs demanding large ransoms for the release of hostages.<br /><br />Nabi, 28, an all-rounder who took up the game while living in a refugee camp in Pakistan, became captain of Afghanistan in March before the Intercontinental Cup in the United Arab Emirates.<br /><br />Cricket has become one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan since it was introduced by refugees returning after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.<br /><br />Afghanistan became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and in 2009 it attained one-day status. Its ambition now is to qualify for the 2015 World Cup.</p>