Cricket has surged in recognition inside Afghanistan lately, fuelled by triumphs over greater nations on the worldwide stage. File.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
Afghanistan cricket bosses on March 20 expressed disappointment that Australia had scrapped a males’s T20 collection due to deteriorating ladies’s rights within the Taliban-ruled nation and referred to as for “politics-free cricket”.
Cricket Australia mentioned it had acquired recommendation “that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse” and postponed the three-match collection scheduled in August, more likely to have been hosted by the UAE.
“The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) expresses disappointment over Cricket Australia’s decision to postpone yet another bilateral series against Afghanistan and reiterates its stance on neutral and politics-free cricket across the globe,” mentioned a press release.
The determination, introduced Tuesday, was the third time since 2021, when the Taliban returned to energy, that Australia have refused to play Afghanistan outdoors of worldwide tournaments.
Cricket has surged in recognition inside Afghanistan lately, fuelled by triumphs over greater nations on the worldwide stage.
But below the Taliban authorities’s model of Islamic rule, ladies are successfully barred from the sport, as a part of a raft of restrictions on ladies in Afghanistan the United Nations has labelled “gender apartheid”.
The ACB urged the Australian authorities “not to impose its policies on cricket boards” and “focus on supporting the development of cricket”.
“ACB advocates for keeping cricket distinct from political influence, considering the game’s significance in Afghanistan and its connection to the happiness and joy of the Afghan nation,” the board mentioned.
Before the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s cricket board was slowly making progress rising the sport amongst ladies — even contracting a small variety of semi-professional gamers in 2020. Most of these ultimately fled to Australia.
