On Tuesday (March 19), Cricket Australia postponed their upcoming overseas T20I series versus Afghanistan, in August, due to concerns over the human rights of women and girls in the country under Taliban rule. This is the third time that Australia have cancelled a bilateral series versus the Rashid Khan starrer Afghanistan since 2021. The Asian country has been under Taliban rule for almost three years now which has affected the cricketing relations between the two nations. 

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Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Australia cancelled a one-off Test match in November 2021. In 2023, they withdrew from a three-match ODI series as well. It was set to be hosted by Afghanistan at a neutral venue, in the UAE.

CA on Tuesday announced that the decision to postpone the bilateral series came after talks with the Australian government. The board stated that the assessment from the Australian government is “that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse”. Notably, Afghanistan remain the only full member of the International Cricket Council without a women’s team at the senior level.

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A statement from CA read, “For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan,” a statement from the board read. It added, “CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future.”

Australia vs Afghanistan — An underrated rivalry!

Over the years, Afghanistan and Australia have been involved in some thrilling contests. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Aaron Finch-led Australia survived a huge scare when they were up against the Afghans, in Adelaide, during their league match. Back then, the then defending champions Australia won by 4 runs in defence of 168/8. During the 2023 ODI World Cup, in India, both sides squared off in match 39 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Despite Afghans posting a competitive 291-5, courtesy of Ibrahim Zadran’s 129*, and reducing the Aussies to 91 for 7, Glenn Maxwell’s 201 not out took the Pat Cummins-led side past the finish line for a three-wicket win. 

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