‘We will give you good news’ – ACB Chairman feels Afghanistan women could still play
The women cricketers in Afghanistan are safe and doing well.
Things are not going great for Afghanistan for the past two months or so. It all started with the Taliban sweeping to power and creating chaos. Afghanistan men's team's scheduled three-match ODI series versus Pakistan got postponed, and the Taliban imposed a ban on women playing cricket. This decision was met with some harsh treatment by players, critics, and experts.
Australia Test skipper Tim Paine questioned the grim silence by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the matter and expressed his concerns about teams playing against Afghanistan for the upcoming T20 World Cup. But in a piece of news that will boost the morale of the women's team, the chairman of Afghanistan's Cricket Board, Azizullah Fazli has said that the governing body will soon decide the fate of the women's game in Afghanistan.
Earlier it was reported that 25 players were offered annual contracts by Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). The women's cricketers are currently staying in their homeland and have not opted to fly out on evacuation flights.
"We will give you our clear position on how we will allow women to play cricket," he told SBS Radio Pashto late Friday. "Very soon, we will give you good news on how we will proceed."
Interestingly a few days ago, reports had surfaced of how the Taliban's cultural commission Ahmadullah Wasiq had spoken about how women don't need to play the sport at all. Cleary Fazli and Wasiq are not on the same page, and it would be interesting to know how this development shapes up.
One-off Test between Australia and Afghanistan in jeopardy
Earlier, Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive, was unsure about how the one-off Test scheduled between Australia and Afghanistan on November 27 would proceed owing to the current state of the situation in Afghanistan. Also, he had views similar to Paine and felt if the women cricket's ban is not lifted in Afghanistan, then the Hobart Test would likely be called off.
Under ICC rules, nations recognized with Test status must have an active women's team to play the sport. Meanwhile, Fazli has said that the women's cricketers in Afghanistan are safe.
"The women cricket coach Diana Barakzai and her players are all safe and living in their home country," he told SBS.
"Many countries have asked them to leave Afghanistan, but they have not left Afghanistan, and at the moment, they are in their places."
