Football and cricket are the two most popular sports in the war - ravaged country -- .
Sports were rarely played under Taleban rule , and the football stadium in Kabul was a notorious venue for executions , stonings and mutilations .
Football and cricket are the two most popular sports in the war - ravaged country -- but sports were rarely played under Taleban rule , and the football stadium in Kabul was a notorious venue for executions , stonings and mutilations .