England to play Afghanistan despite boycott calls

England’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan will go ahead, despite calls for a boycott.

A cross-party letter, signed by nearly 200 UK politicians, was sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) asking for England to refuse to play in response to the Taliban’s human rights record.

Since the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan in 2021, female sports participation has been effectively prohibited.

The governing body confirmed that the match will take place in Lahore on February 26 as scheduled after the board met on Thursday.

The ECB stated in a statement that Afghanistan’s current situation “is nothing short of gender apartheid,” and that coordinating international action from the cricketing community is the best course of action.

It is heartbreaking that those growing up in Afghanistan are denied this opportunity, but the Taliban’s abhorrent oppression of women and girls goes a long way, it read.

The ECB also announced that it had donated £100,000 to the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to support exiled female cricketers, and that it would continue to press the ICC to act, including by supporting Afghan women and girls who want to play cricket.

The Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan and Dubai starting on February 19, will also feature Australia and South Africa.

Since the Taliban’s rule oversaw England’s two previous matches against Afghanistan, both in the T20 of 2022 and the 50-over World Cup of 2023.

Calls for a boycott of this fixture were led by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who said England’s players should use their “power” to “make a difference”.

Her fellow Labour MP and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the game should go ahead, adding that boycotts were counter-productive.

Afghanistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a test-playing nation.

According to ICC rules, a nation’s full membership is conditional upon the existence of women’s cricket teams and pathway structures.

Despite the women’s organization’s dissolution, Afghanistan has been permitted to play in both Test matches and ICC competitions.

Richard Gould, the ECB’s CEO, wrote to the ICC in demand of more action.

He avoided making an immediate boycott, but he did request that the ICC grant Afghanistan’s full member status “immediate condition” to ensure that women’s cricket was available by a specific date.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board signed 25 female players to professional contracts in 2020.

When the Taliban returned to power the following year, more than 20 members of the Afghanistan women’s team fled to Australia.

Last week, an Afghanistan Women’s XI played an exhibition match in Melbourne, their first match as a collective since arriving in Australia.

Nahida Sapan, captain of the Afghan XI, told the BBC’s Stumped she did not support a boycott.

She said that pressing on the ICC and the Afghanistan Cricket Board to recognize us as one of the best ways to support the Afghanistan women’s cricket team is one of the best things we can do.