Australia pull out of Afghanistan ODIs over Taliban crackdown on women
The men´s team were due to face their Afghan counterparts in three games in March
Australia have pulled out of the upcoming one-day international series against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday citing Taliban moves to further restrict women´s rights.
The men´s team were due to face their Afghan counterparts in three games in March following a tour to India.
"CA is committed to supporting growing the game for women and men around the world, including in Afghanistan, and will continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country," the Cricket Australia statement read.
"We thank the Australian Government for its support on this matter."
Afghanistan is only ICC full member country without a women's team, which has meant that they won't have a side at the inaugural Women’s U19 T20 World Cup starting on Saturday.
Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration last month imposed a ban on women attending universities while girls have been banned from high school since March. They have also been excluded from parks and gyms.
The ICC is also "concerned" about the recent developments in Afghanistan and the issue will be raised at its next meeting.
"Our board has been monitoring progress since the change of regime,” ICC CEO Geoff Allardice was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“It is a concern that progress is not being made in Afghanistan and it's something our board will consider at its next meeting in March. As far as we are aware, there isn't activity at the moment."
In November 2021, the ICC Board also appointed a working group to review the status of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and cricket in Afghanistan in light of the governmental changes in the country.
The group comprises Imran Khwaja (Chair), Ross McCollum, Lawson Naidoo and Ramiz Raja.
Cricket was barely known in Afghanistan until the early 2000s, and its explosive rise in popularity was linked with conflict — the sport was picked up in Pakistan by Afghan refugees who then seeded it in their home country.
But the national team has enjoyed a meteoric rise on the international scene since then, gaining coveted Test status in 2017 and now ranked among the top-10 sides in the world in the ODI and T20 formats.
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