 "England ex-captains slam Taliban regime for 'gender apartheid' but support match against Afghanistan: 'The barbarism...'")
The England cricket team found itself at the center of a political and ethical debate before its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Afghanistan. There were calls for a boycott over the Taliban regime’s treatment of women, especially from politicians back home. However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to go ahead with the game despite the pressure.
Nasser Hussain calls for consistency in criticism
Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain did not hold back in his criticism of the Taliban’s policies against women, particularly the suppression of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team. He cited the United Nations’ classification of the Taliban’s treatment of women as “gender apartheid” and urged the global cricketing community to take a stand.
“What is happening in Afghanistan, what is happening to their women’s cricket team is truly despicable. It is gender apartheid, and that is not me saying that—the United Nations has called it gender apartheid. So, what do you do about that? The cricket world and the cricket community have to come together and do something about it," Hussain said.
However, he also emphasised the need for consistency when calling out human rights violations. He pointed out that England continue to play in countries where homosexuality remains illegal and where human rights issues persist.
“You like consistency in everything you do. If you’re going to call out the truly despicable situation in Afghanistan, make sure you’re consistent. England play cricket against large parts of the world where being homosexual is still illegal. Here, where we stand in Pakistan, it is illegal. Do we stop playing here? Do we call it out? When we cover sports from Qatar or Saudi Arabia, do we stop playing? You need to be consistent," Hussain stated.
Michael Atherton: Boycott not the right approach
Michael Atherton, another former England captain, pushed back against calls from 160 UK parliamentarians who had urged the ECB to boycott the match against Afghanistan. He argued that such a move would not help the people of Afghanistan and could worsen the humanitarian crisis.
“They [the parliamentarians] asked the ECB to condemn what’s happening in Afghanistan, which they did strongly, and to consider a unilateral boycott. But that letter failed to acknowledge a few things,” Atherton said.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“The Foreign Affairs Select Committee wrote a report about that shambolic withdrawal and the aftermath, and their clear point of view was that the UK’s position should not be to completely isolate Afghanistan and make that humanitarian crisis worse. You need to maintain links with what they call civil society. And in any civil society, sport—cricket—plays a part. Hopefully, for the day when civil society can flourish again in Afghanistan, you want to keep that thing going so it can flourish in due time," Atherton explained.
England captain Jos Buttler also weighed in on the debate, acknowledging the dire situation for women in Afghanistan while expressing hope that cricket can serve as a unifying force.
“We’re very saddened by the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan at the moment and the struggles they are facing. But we hope that the game tomorrow can be a source of hope and enjoyment in what is obviously a tough time. Sport has a great power to unite people and give hope, and that’s what we hope this game will do,” Buttler said.
Meanwhile, the match between England and Afghanistan is currently underway in Lahore, where both teams are fighting to remain alive in the Champions Trophy. Both England and Afghanistan need to win the match to keep their knockout hopes intact . Batting first, Afghanistan posted 325/7 in 50 overs thanks to a superb knock from Ibrahim Zadran. England are currently attempting to chase down the target.
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