By Sandaru Munasinghe
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been called upon to make a tough decision on boycotting the England men’s team Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan scheduled to happen on the 26th of February 2025 in Lahore under the context of taking a stand against the Taliban regimes’ policies and human rights violations against Women in Afghanistan.
The pressure mounts on the ECB as a letter has been sent to the ECB written by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi which has been signed by over 160 UK politicians which include key figures such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The letter highlights the Taliban regime’s oppressive policies against women and calls for the UK to take a stand against gender-based oppression.
A key focus is the ban on women’s cricket since the Taliban took power in 2021, forcing many Afghan female players to flee despite receiving ACB contracts in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan men’s team continues to play in ICC tournaments without sanctions.
The ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould has responded to the letter diplomatically saying that the board is working towards a solution but has not shown a strong intent on boycotting the match.
The chief also added that the ECB is already actively advocating against the issue as they follow a policy to not schedule bilateral matches vs Afghanistan.
He also shared his remarks that an ICC wide approach to this issue would be more impactful considering that Afghanistan Mens’ team actively participates in ICC events without any sanction.
England has met Afghanistan in 3 encounters only at ICC events and lost their most recent meeting at the 2023 ODI World cup supporting the idea that a Champions Trophy boycott could cost England vital points in their journey towards winning the coveted trophy. (Newswire)
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