NS Afghanistan Cricket The board (ACB) is committed to promoting the women’s game in the country and is optimistic that their only Test against Australia in November will go ahead, new chairman Azizullah Fazli has told Reuters.
The ACB fears isolation after Cricket Australia (CA) threatened to cancel a Test match against the men’s team if Afghanistan’s new Taliban government did not allow women to play the game.
The Australian board said it was “incredibly important” to promote the development of women’s cricket, but Fazli said the CA communication was the result of a “misunderstanding” that was being cleared up.
“We spoke to him officially and the issue related to the Test match will be resolved,” Fazli said.
A Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed they were in “regular talks with the ACB”, but added that, as things stand, the board’s position on the Hobart Test has not changed since last week.
The controversy began when a Taliban representative told Australian broadcaster SBS last week that he did not think women would be allowed to play cricket because it was “not necessary” and would be against Islam.
Fazli, who returned as ACB president last month in the country’s first major cricket development since the Taliban came to power, said she was still awaiting the government’s instructions on the future of women’s cricket.
“The new government of Afghanistan is focusing on its priority programmes,” the administrator said.
“They didn’t tell us anything about women’s cricket (but) we are committed to maintaining and supporting women’s cricket.”
When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan two decades ago, girls were not allowed to go to school and women were banned from work and education. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) will discuss the issue at its next board meeting in November.
Australia’s Test captain Tim Paine said last week that other countries could refuse to play Afghanistan in the men’s Twenty20 World Cup starting next month due to the issue. Fazli ruled out any such possibility.
“There is no threat to Afghanistan’s participation in the T20 World Cup,” he said. We are already starting our camp preparations. As a full member team, we have very good international relations with other full member countries.”
The ACB also found itself in an awkward position last week when Rashid Khan stepped down as the captain of the Twenty20 World Cup squad, saying the selectors had not consulted him before picking the team.
Fazli said fellow all-rounder Mohammad Nabi will now lead the team in the showpiece tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
“Muhammad Nabi is the senior player of the team and now he is the captain,” he said. “He knows his team members very well.”
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