Cricket Australia this week announced its decision to pull the plug on the country’s Test match previously planned for hosting Afghanistan in November. The organisation said the decision was taken as a result of the Taliban’s position of refusing women to participate in sports.
According to a statement issued via Cricket Australia’s Twitter account on Thursday, event organisers are now trying to establish whether the recent media reports concerning the Taliban can be substantiated. The cricket governing body said it values women in sport in Australia and that it deems the driving of growth related to this of utmost importance.
Also seen addressing the issue this week was the Australian Cricketers’ Association. The association released a statement of support in response to Cricket Australia’s statement, confirming that it endorsed the cricket governing body’s decision and stance on the matter. It also said it deemed the issue at hand to be a human rights issue, and as such, an issue that goes over and above the game of cricket.
Meanwhile, according to a news report published by British newspaper The Guardian, Afghan and women’s cricketer Roya Samim has fled her home country in order to seek asylum in Canada and escape the Taliban’s hostile takeover in August. Samim has apparently expressed her disappointment with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over their lack of action or response to the concerns faced by female cricket players living in Afghanistan.
The November 27 Test match would have been Australia’s first-ever match played against Afghanistan.
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