Cricket Australia postpones Afghanistan T20I series due to human rights issues

For the third time Cricket Australia has withdrawn from playing a series against Afghanistan due to human rights issues.

Cricket Australia (CA) has once again postponed bilateral cricket series against Afghanistan citing human rights issues in Afghanistan. The two sides were supposed to play a three-match T20I series in August later this year. CA and Australian cricketers have several times shown their criticism towards quality of life for women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

CA previously cancelled one-off test match against Afghanistan which was scheduled to be played in Hobart in November 2021. Later, they also cancelled the ODI series in 2023 against the same team after a massive decline in human rights for women and girls under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

CA released a statement on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 stating that they had consulted with the Australian government regarding the decline in human rights condition for women and girls under Taliban rule in Afghanistan since they postponed the ODI series in 2023.

“Over the past 12 months CA has continued to consult with the Australian government on the situation in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“The government’s advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse. For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan,” the statement added.

Furthermore, CA added that they will continue to show strong support for women and girls participation in cricket across the globe, and the Australian cricket body will actively engage with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) for the resumption of bilateral series between the two nations.

“CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the ICC and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future,” the statement read.

ICC CEO Geoff Allardice opens up on Afghanistan playing without a women’s cricket team

It is to be noted that Afghanistan is the only full-member nation without a women’s cricket team, However, the ICC CEO Geoff Allardice cleared that they will support Afghanistan as they have to operate within the laws of their country. 

“We have spoken with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and their position is they have to operate within the laws of the country and the rules as set by the government, and really the question for the ICC Board is ‘do we support our member in their ability to promote cricket within the rules set by the government of the country?’, and the view is yes,” Allardice said to the BBC.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.