On the day the Champions Trophy began in Pakistan, Sydney-based former international taekwondo medallist Roman Abasy came across a photograph that made his stomach sink.
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The former Asian Games bronze medallist, who along with his family received a humanitarian visa to move to the NSW capital three years ago with the assistance of the Australian Olympic Committee, was aghast.
The photograph in question showed Nasib Khan, the executive director of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, with members of the Taliban crediting the regime for their support and help.
Outspoken in calling for Australia and England to boycott its matches against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy given the Taliban’s human rights abuses, particularly towards women, Abasy said this week shapes as an extremely dispiriting week for world sport.
He described Afghanistan’s presence in the Champions Trophy, while earned through their strength as a side, is another worrying example of sports washing from a terrorist regime.
“The big reason that we want to cancel these matches is because in Afghanistan, the Taliban support the Afghanistan cricket team,” he said.
“The Afghanistan executive director of the cricket board, he clearly mentioned that behind the success of the Afghanistan cricket team is the Taliban. It means that they are clearly saying that they’re supporting the Taliban and the Taliban are supporting them, and they represent the Taliban in international championships like cricket.
“The Taliban use cricket to normalise everything inside Afghanistan. But they do not support women in any way.”
Afghanistan’s presence in the Champions Trophy has drawn significant criticism of the International Cricket Council amid concerns for the rights of women and girls under the Taliban regime in regards to education, sport and, indeed, opportunities in their homeland.
The ICC is clear in its edict to grow the game for both men and women, and to provide equal opportunities for both sexes, but an extraordinary exception has been granted to Afghanistan, despite its oppressive stance.
It has placed Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board, among others, in a vexed position this week given their national sides will play against Afghanistan, which opened the Champions Trophy when thrashed by South Africa.
Cricket Australia has refused to take part in bilateral series against Afghanistan since the Taliban regime regained power in 2021, calling off a one-off Test that year and then withdrawing from an ODI series in 2023 in what was described as a principled stance.
It angered Afghanistan. Star leg spinner Rashid Khan threatened to pull out of the BBL — injury ultimately prevented his appearance — amid criticism from his board.
“ACB advocates for keeping cricket distinct from political influence, considering the game’s significance in Afghanistan and its connection to the happiness and joy of the Afghan Nation,” the statement read.
“ACB’s top management had previously engaged in negotiations with Cricket Australia and proposed exploring alternative solutions instead of publicly announcing withdrawals.
“ACB urges Cricket Australia to respect and understand its position as a Full Member nation and look for alternative solutions rather than succumbing to external pressures and/or political influences.”
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A war of words on the issue of recognising Afghanistan as a cricket nation unfolded between the ICC and Cricket Australia late last year.
The ICC’s outgoing chief executive Scott Barclay accused the Aussies of “virtue signalling”, noting that they abandoned series when it suited them but would play Afghanistan when there was more on the line in terms of results.
“If you want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” he said.
“Sure, it might cost you a semi-final place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle.”
In response, Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird pointed to the assistance the organisation had provided to the Afghanistani women in Australia.
This support has been significant, highlighted by the recent match the Afghani women played in Melbourne in January, and the support for that team and others who have made their way to Australia is ongoing.
“There’s all types of lines you can draw. We’ve drawn a line. We’ve taken a position and we are proudly standing up where we think we should,” Baird said at Adelaide Oval.
But it is a more difficult matter to boycott fixtures in official ICC tournaments, with CA and others opting to progress with matches against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in line with the position it cannot influence who it draws in these events.
“We are proud of the efforts of the Australian Cricket community which has supported members of the Afghanistan women’s team in their relocation to Australia and provided opportunities for them to play,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said this week.
“The postponement of bilateral matches against the Afghanistan men was in response to a significant deterioration in human rights in that country.
“The situation in Afghanistan remains complex, therefore CA is continuing to work with the Australian Government and the Afghanistan Cricket Board. We enter ICC events understanding there is an obligation to play all scheduled games.”
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English star Joe Root was asked whether he had discussed the matter with any Afgani cricketers and also about what his nation’s hierarchy think about the merits of boycotting their clash with Afghanistan on Wednesday night.
“We don’t see that boycotting this game is going to make any sort of positive impact,” Root told BBC’s Test Match Special.
“Clearly there are things over there that are hard to hear and read upon, but cricket is such a source of joy for so many people, and for a number of people within Afghanistan, and I think it is an opportunity to give some hope, give some joy and hopefully the two teams can do that in the next fixture.”
Afghanistan’s coach Jonathan Trott said he knows the nation’s male cricketers are “very aware of what is going on in their country”.
“The majority of players who have a voice on social media, if you go through their social media, they have very much voiced their disapproval of what is currently taking place and the importance of equality for everybody,” he told the BBC.
“These guys are brave. They know the difference between right and wrong. And I think it is a real tricky situation for them. So for me to start voicing — perhaps you and I, or anybody listening, is not as educated in the understanding of the seriousness of things — I try to be as compassionate about everything that they are going through, or what their country is going through.”
The washout between Australia and South Africa on Tuesday night means both England and Afghanistan can still make the semifinals despite losing their first rounds, but would need to win both of their remaining matches.
“From our point of view, we have got to make sure we put our best foot forward and find ourselves on the right side of the result,” Root said.
A JOYOUS MOMENT BUT A SOMBRE REMINDER
Less than a week after Jannik Sinner held the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup aloft to celebrate his Australian Open success, another memorable moment occurred in Melbourne.
The date of January 30, 2025 is one that will be remembered with celebration, but also poignancy, in Australian cricket circles for matches on either side of the Botanical Gardens.
At the MCG Australia hosted England in the first day-night Test to be played at the famous ground and proceeded to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of the Ashes.
But earlier in the day, an Afghanistan women’s team played its first match since the Taliban regime took charge against the Cricket without Borders team at the Junction Oval.
Cricket Australia played a role in assisting 22 of the 25 women contracted to the Afghanistan Cricket Board find safe passage down under after the Taliban regained control.
Those women have largely resided in Canberra and Melbourne since their arrival, where they have featured in club cricket matches while integrating into Australian society.
Although not officially recognised by either the ICC or the ACB, it was the first time an Afghanistan women’s team had played a match since their arrival in Australia, which prompted both a good attendance at the Junction Oval and also great joy.
The result was less important than the outcome, which was to provide a defiant display of what Afghanistan women can do if given an opportunity in life, be it in sport or education.
As the captain Nahida Sapan said; “This match has changed our women’s future. We want to give opportunities to Afghan women and we dedicate this match to them.”
“We know Afghan women can’t play and can’t study and it will take a lot of hard work to change this. But we will work hard. We want to open the door to a shiny future,” she said.
Fox Sports Australia broadcaster Mel Jones, who is in Dubai commentating on the Champions Trophy, played a pivotal role in assisting the Afghan cricketers find a new home.
While holed up in hotel quarantine in Sydney in 2021, Jones received a message from Afghan cricketer Benafsha Hashimi amid the turmoil that was unfolding in Kabul. And it rocked her.
“And all it said was ‘Hi’,” she told cricket.com.au
“So I sent a message back saying, ‘Look, I know you don’t know me, but I’m involved in cricket in Australia. I don’t know what we can do, but if you and (other) players would like us to look into trying to get you out, I’m more than happy to see what I can do. But I can’t promise anything’.
“She came back immediately and said, ‘Yes. We all want to get out.’”
Jones felt helpless at the time. But the 66-time Australian representative found a way with the assistance of others, including the Federal Government, and the Junction Oval match more than three years later was a meaningful step in the journey.
When Jones spoke to foxsports.com.au later that night at the MCG, there was a broad smile on her face.
“They’ve been playing club cricket around Canberra and Melbourne now for the last couple of years, but this is something very special,” she said.
“They won’t forget it. I certainly am not going to forget it, and I think all the people who rocked up and watched as well will be in the same boat.”
Her colleague Izzy Westbury issued a plea for assistance to the Australian public on the Fox Cricket broadcast in the latter stages of the Aussies dominant win over England at the MCG.
“Now Mel Jones, she is far too self-deprecating to talk about this, but she has played such an integral part in this,” Westbury said.
“When the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, the women’s team were left in a perilous position. They made their way through a number of wonderful Australians, with Mel Jones being one of them, over to Australia at a very difficult time.
“Only the start has really happened. They have got out of Afghanistan. They are making their lives, but … for the support for their playing, their physical and mental needs, (we are) aiming to raise $1.5 million over the next three years for the players, the support staff, who are having to rebuild their lives.”
THE CALL OUT REMAINS
As joyous as the Junction Oval outing was, it served as a reminder that friends and relatives back in Afghanistan were not able to participate in society with any freedom.
After the match, cricketer Firiza Amiri said that it was “important women have the same rights as men and they can play for Afghanistan”.
“If the ICC wants to give Afghanistan full membership, we must have a full women’s team as well,” she said.
But almost a month on from the match, Abasy told foxsports.com.au it was disappointing that the women, who he assists, have received no word or recognition from the ICC.
In England, more than 200 cross party MPs pressured Sports Minister Lisa Nandy, calling on her to intervene ahead of that nation’s clash with Afghanistan, the Daily Express reported.
But Abasy’s campaign for a boycott of the Afghanistan Champions Trophy match, which has been supported by several Australian athletes, has also fallen on deaf ears.
After the Junction Oval outing, Nahida opted to play a straight bat when asked about the participation of her nation in the tournament.
“They are playing the Champions Trophy to support us, so we don’t want to judge what they do. They bring great hope for the Afghanistan people and we want to do that,” she said.
Abasy said there is good reason for Afghanistanis in Australia to be diplomatic when discussing the men’s cricket team, noting they have relatives back at home who are at risk of intimidation or worse from the Taliban regime.
“They’re completely monitoring everything on social media, in interviews, and if you say something they don’t like, they will put pressure on Afghan families back at home,” he said.
“They are a terrorist group. They don’t have any morals. They don’t have any humanity.”
While strongly crediting Australia and Cricket Australia for its assistance in terms of assisting the Afghani women, he wishes his calls for a boycott of this match had been recognised.
“Cricket Australia, they have already cancelled three matches for the human rights issues that are currently occurring in Afghanistan,” he said.
“I think we hope that Cricket Australia will do the same thing here, because it’s very important with all the media, all the people of Afghanistan, everyone focusing on this match.
“There is a big campaign all over the world that all the human rights defenders, all the people, are requesting the cancellation of this match.
“If they believe that they cancelled three matches in 2023 because of the Taliban, the situation is much worse … now. The situation is very bad. Today is a very great time to cancel.”
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