 "The exiled Afghanistan women's team during a match in Australia. Image: AFP")
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the formation of a dedicated task force to support displaced Afghan women cricketers , many of whom currently reside in exile in Australia. This initiative is being dubbed a major humanitarian gesture by the ICC under its new chairman, Jay Shah.
Partnering with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia (CA), the three most influential cricket boards globally, the ICC is looking to assist Afghan women cricketers in their cricketing journeys by providing financial backing.
This move follows years of uncertainty for Afghanistan’s women cricketers, who left their country following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. After the Taliban formed a government, the Afghanistan women’s cricket team was dismantled and female athletes were forced into exile.
While the latest move by the ICC is commendable on the surface, the initiative does nothing to restore or protect the rights of women to play cricket in Afghanistan. Let’s take a look at why ICC’s initiative to support Afghan women is only a symbolic gesture that cannot yield long-term results.
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The ICC is avoiding the uncomfortable step of confronting the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which continues to operate without a women’s team and still enjoys full ICC membership. Instead of sanctioning or pressuring the ACB to reform, the global body has opted to fund a few displaced players. It is a classic case of treating the symptoms while ignoring the disease.
One of the harshest truths about this initiative is that it offers no hope or pathway for young girls in Afghanistan who dream of playing cricket. The ICC’s program only benefits those already fortunate enough to escape the country, it does nothing for those still trapped under a regime that bans them from participating.
The move looks good, but changes nothing
Even for the exiled players, the initiative is not a ticket to international cricket. The ICC cannot force the ACB to field a women’s team in global tournaments. These players, no matter how well trained or supported abroad, are effectively stateless athletes with no national team to represent.
This entire exercise seems more concerned with optics than outcomes. By launching this initiative, the ICC can claim it’s doing something for Afghan women while avoiding the real question: why is the ACB still allowed to operate without a functioning women’s team despite it being compulsory for all members?
The ICC is failing to provide Afghan women cricketers a fair chance to compete at the highest level as they are only doing charity right now.
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