Australia ends its ODI series against Afghanistan

• Australia’s men’s squad have withdrawn from their ODI series.
• Girls are also banned from attending high school and gyms and parks.
• ICC concerned about Afghanistan’s lack of support for women’s cricket.

Following new Taliban limitations on women’s and girls’ rights, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Thursday that Australia’s men’s squad had withdrawn from their ODI series against Afghanistan in March.

Last month, the Taliban-run government in Afghanistan outlawed women attending institutions. Since March, girls are prohibited from attending high school. Additionally, they have been barred from gyms and parks.

Three One-Day Internationals between Australia and Afghanistan were set to take place in the United Arab Emirates, but CA cancelled the series after “extensive consultation” with all relevant parties, including the Australian government.

“This decision follows the recent announcement by the Taliban of further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities and their ability to access parks and gyms,” CA said in a statement.

“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.

“We thank the Australian government for its support on this matter.”

The tournament was a part of the ICC Super League, in which the top eight teams automatically go to the 2023 World Cup. Australia has already earned a spot in the competition.

Australia and Afghanistan were supposed to play a Test match in November 2021, but the match was cancelled when the Taliban took control of the country in August of that year.

The only ICC full member country still without a women’s squad is Afghanistan. However, they have continued to participate in ICC competitions after the Taliban took control, and they played Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup last year.

Geoff Allardice, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, stated that the ICC is concerned about Afghanistan’s lack of support for women’s cricket and that the issue will be revisited at the ICC’s next board meeting.

“Our board has been monitoring progress since the change of regime,” Allardice said. “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.”

Also Read

Pakistan women team landed in Australia for ODI & T20 series

Pakistan women's team arrived in Brisbane today. They will play three ODI...