SYDNEY: Australia on Friday defended their hotly contested decision to pull out of a cricket series against Afghanistan following a Taliban crackdown on women’s “basic human rights”.
“Basic human rights is not politics,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement sent to AFP after Afghanistan’s cricket board lashed the cancellation as “pathetic”.
The Australian men’s team had been due to face their Afghan counterparts for three one-day internationals in the United Arab Emirates in March, following a tour of India.
“It is clearly a very challenging and sad situation. We did not take this decision lightly,” Hockley said.
He continued by stating that Cricket Australia regularly communicated with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and had expressed interest in playing Afghanistan.
But the Taliban’s declarations in late November and late December signalling the worsening of fundamental human rights for women in Afghanistan led to our decision to withdraw from these games, he claimed.
Before cancelling the matches, Hockley said that the Australian Cricket Authority held consultations with the Australian Government and other parties.
Rashid Khan, the most well-known leg-spinner in international cricket from Afghanistan, too had something to say in response to the cancellation and his threat to “seriously consider” playing in Australia’s Big Bash League in the future.
“We appreciate and support the remarks made at the time by Rashid Khan and other Afghan cricket players criticising the Taliban’s decision to prohibit women from attending institutions. The BBL will always welcome Rashid, “added Hockley.
The cricket chief stated that Australia was dedicated to developing the sport for both sexes and expressed his hope that improved conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan would enable cricket between the two nations to resume “in the not too distant future.”
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