 "This is the third time Australia have decided against playing Afghanistan. Reuters")
Cricket Australia Tuesday decided to postpone its bilateral T20 series against Afghanistan due to “deteriorating human rights for women and girls” in the country under Taliban rule. Australia were expected to play Afghanistan in a three-match T20 series in August this year with the latter hosting the matches, most likely in UAE. The T20 series is part of ICC’s Future Tours Program.
This is the third time Australia have decided to not play Afghanistan since Taliban took over the country in 2021 and placed a restriction on women playing sports.
In 2021, Cricket Australia cancelled a one-off Test match against Afghanistan that was scheduled for November at Hobart. In 2023, Australia cancelled a three-match ODI series scheduled for March in UAE.
“Over the past twelve months CA has continued to consult with the Australian Government on the situation in Afghanistan. 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,” Cricket Australia said in its statement on Tuesday.
“CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council 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.”
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More Shorts“We again thank the Australian Government for its support.”