England are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a group-stage match on February 26 in Lahore
\n London
\nA group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country\u2019s cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban\u2019s \u201ccrackdown\u201d on women.
\nSince the Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has restricted women and girls\u2019 access to education and work, curbing their freedom of movement, and forcing them to cover their faces and bodies.
\nWomen and girls have also been barred from sports and gyms, a breach of the International Cricket Council\u2019s (ICC) rules. Following which, the Afghanistan women\u2019s team was disbanded, with several members fleeing the country after 2021.
\nEngland are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a group-stage match on February 26 in Lahore.
\nA letter signed by more than 160 politicians on Monday called for England\u2019s players and officials to speak out against the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.
\n\u201cWe also urge the ECB to consider a boycott of the upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy Group stage on February 26th to send a clear signal that such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated,\u201d the letter added.
\nECB chief executive Richard Gould responded by calling for a uniform approach from all member nations towards Afghanistan\u2019s participation in international cricket.
\n\u201cThe ECB strongly condemns the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime,\u201d Gould said.
\n\u201cThe ICC Constitution mandates that all member nations are committed to the growth and development of women\u2019s cricket. In line with this commitment, the ECB has maintained its position of not scheduling any bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan.
\n\u201cWhile there has not been a consensus on further international action within the ICC, the ECB will continue to actively advocate for such measures. A coordinated, ICC-wide approach would be significantly more impactful than unilateral actions by individual members.\u201d
\nEngland previously faced Afghanistan at the 50-overs Cricket World Cup in 2023, as well as at the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022.
\nLast year, Australia called off a T20 series against Afghanistan citing the deteriorating human rights situation for women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
England are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a group-stage match on February 26 in Lahore London A group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country\u2019s cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban\u2019s \u201ccrackdown\u201d on women. Since the Taliban returned to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-454143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n