Australian cricket team's boycott is condemned by Afghans.

 Australian cricket team's boycott is condemned by Afghans.

The only chance for the nation is cricket. Keep politics out of it, Rashid Khan, Afghanistan's most well-known cricketer, tweeted following Australia's withdrawal from the March One-Day International (ODI) series against the south Asian country. Khan, the T20 squad captain and the public face of Afghan cricket, wasn't alone. Soon, a chorus of criticism of Australia's choice to boycott the Afghan men's squad emerged, including from other cricket players.

"I was shocked to learn that Australia had withdrawn from the series against us in March. We have made enormous strides on the international scene, and I take great delight in serving my country, said Khan in a statement on Thursday.

"This CA [Cricket Australia] decision sets us back on that road," he declared.

Former Afghan cricket team captain Mohammad Nabi criticized the cancellation of the series that was scheduled to be played in Dubai. He added that Afghan cricketers are role models and proud ambassadors of the cricketing fraternity and urged people to keep politics and sports apart.

"Pathetic" choice

Afghan fast bowler Naveen ul Haq Murid referred to canceling the series as "childish" and charged that instead of offering support, Australia had deprived Afghans of their main source of joy. Afghans shared their opinions through the hashtag #StopPoliticsinCricket, with some of them applauding the Australian decision. The Australian Cricket Board stated that its choice was made in response to the Taliban's recent announcement to further restrict women's freedom. Last month, women were prohibited from attending universities and from working for nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, women are prohibited from completing sixth grade in school and from working the majority of jobs outside the home.

The board's decision has the support of the Australian government.

Former president Hamid Karzai voiced his dismay that the Taliban have not yet released a statement.

 

"Disappointed with the Australian Cricket Board's choice, especially in light of the difficulties the Afghan people endure. Our National Cricket team and all of our young athletes continue to make us tremendously proud.

In a country torn apart by decades of conflict and occupation, cricket enjoys tremendous support. Cricket players and others have emphasized how the game has helped Afghans smile despite the country's unrest and violence. In August 2021, after 20 years, the US-led foreign forces left Afghanistan, restoring the Taliban to power. When Australia decided to cancel a one-off test match scheduled to take place in Hobart, Australia, in November 2021, they cited identical justifications.

The decision made by Cricket Australia was described by the Afghanistan Cricket Board as "pitiful." The International Cricket Council, the sport's highest governing body, was promised to be contacted. The ICC has not yet responded to the situation. It claimed that Cricket Australia undermined the integrity of the game by putting political considerations ahead of fair play and sportsmanship.

However, one of the Afghan women working to develop women's cricket warned that additional nations may call off matches as a result of the boycott, according to SBS News, an Australian website. Former women's cricket development manager for Afghanistan, Tuba Sangar, warned that Afghanistan risked losing its ICC membership if it took place.

Afghanistan did not "acquire the full membership [of the ICC] easily," according to Sangar, speaking to SBS News. Ben Gardner, the managing editor of wisden.com, questioned the Australian board's choice, noting that Australia played Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup the previous year despite the Taliban's September ban on women's cricket. He emphasized that despite Afghanistan's lack of a women's squad, the country received full ICC membership in 2017. "This [boycott] denies Afghanistan's cricket players a platform from which to voice their opinions. Their greatest cultural export is their cricket squad, according to Gardner's essay.

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