England play Afghanistan in a crucial ICC Champions Trophy match for both sides on Wednesday – but there were calls from politicians for Jos Buttler’s side to boycott the fixture in response to Taliban rule in the country.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in 2021 after the Taliban regained power and most of them sought refuge in Australia. But for over three years they say they’ve been ignored and sidelined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) despite making multiple pleas for help.
The men’s team have still been allowed to compete during this time, despite the country not having a women’s team – something that is not allowed under ICC law – and have seemingly received no punishment.
In January, Afghanistan’s exiled women’s cricketers represented their country for the first time since the Taliban reclaimed control, featuring in an historic exhibition match against Cricket Without Borders (CWOB), in what they hope will mark the start of a new journey for them.
Afghanistan women’s cricketer, Firooza Amiri, says that an England boycott of the men’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan was not the answer.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, she said: It’s good to see that the world wants to support us and support Afghan women, but I personally think a boycott doesn’t have any impact.
Firooza added on the future of the Afghanistan team: It’s time for ICC to take action and recognise us as a national team, and let us compete on the world stage, or recognise us as a refugee team, then we can represent Afghanistan.
Sky Sports News understands that before the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, the Afghanistan Cricket Board [ACB] committed to improving and building a women’s programme, with 25 players selected.
This progress stopped in mid-2021 and the ICC formed the Afghanistan Working Group, to examine a whole host of issues that arose with the change of government in Afghanistan including government interference, funding, constitutional issues and women’s cricket.
However, the entire board was all-male and following a meeting in 2023, the cricket chiefs significantly raised the men’s team’s budget whilst providing no update on the women’s team.
The Afghan women players who are in exile are not part of this. They have not been communicated to, to the best of my knowledge, and they need to have a seat at the table, Shubham Jain told Sky Sports News, a fellow at the Centre for Sport & Human Rights and University of Cambridge doctoral researcher.
They need to have their voices heard, to tell this working group what they can do to change their lives, to make sure that what they do is for their benefits.
Sky Sports News understands that the ICC have communicated with the exiled Afghanistan players. However, there is no direct relationship, as this sits with the ACB.
Afghanistan men’s head coach Jonathan Trott says his players know there are things that are not correct in the country amid the assault on women’s rights under the Taliban regime.
Ahead of the crucial Champions Trophy clash against England in Lahore on Wednesday, former England top-order batter Trott suggested his side are playing for the Afghanistan people and not the regime.
They [the players] know the difference between right and wrong, he told the BBC. It is a real tricky situation for them.
They won’t care if we don’t play cricket against them. What they will care about is if we keep engaging with them and showing them a different way of living and a different way of thinking.
So I think it’s really important that we continue to play cricket against Afghanistan and show them that there is a better way forward for their country and for their people.
Women are being systematically oppressed and silenced in all aspects of their lives in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The international cricket community must take a stand and support the exiled Afghan women’s players, demand action from the ICC, and provide funding and advocacy to allow these players to continue competing as a refugee team. It is important for all cricketing nations to come together and support these women who are being denied their basic rights and freedoms.