Cricket Australia postpones Afghanistan T20Is due to Taliban’s position on womenCricket Australia

Cricket Australia has indefinitely postponed their planned T20I series against Afghanistan, citing the lack of any positive changes in the Taliban’s treatment of women. The three-match series was originally set to take place in August in the UAE.

After the Taliban takeover, Cricket Australia had canceled the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan and withdrew from the ODI series last year. While CA had initially left open the possibility of resuming bilateral cricket if conditions for girls and women improved in Afghanistan, they have now observed a deterioration in those conditions.

The decision to withdraw from the ODI series last year was met with disappointment from players like Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq. However, the two teams later met in a thrilling match at the World Cup in India later that year.

“Over the past 12 months, CA has maintained ongoing consultations with the Australian government regarding the situation in Afghanistan,” stated CA. “According to the government’s advice, conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are deteriorating. Therefore, we have upheld our previous stance and decided to postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan.”

CA remains committed to supporting women and girls’ participation in cricket globally. They will continue to engage with the ICC and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to explore potential actions that could facilitate the resumption of bilateral matches in the future.

Afghanistan is currently the only full member nation without a women’s cricket team.