Knight to meet exiled Afghanistan women’s players during the second ODI of the Ashes series

Heather Knight, the England Women’s captain, has called for the cricket community to speak out for the Afghanistan women’s team. She expressed concerns that the cricket community had largely forgotten the team until controversy erupted over the England men’s match against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy. England is scheduled to play Afghanistan on February 26 in Lahore, and UK politicians have called on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to consider boycotting the match. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and ECB CEO Richard Gould have urged the ICC to take a strong stance on the matter.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, they have effectively banned women’s cricket. Restrictions, including a ban on the sound of women’s voices in public, have severely impacted the sport. Approximately 22 women contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board before the Taliban’s takeover fled to Australia and are now based in Melbourne and Canberra. On January 30, several of these players will feature in a T20 match between an Afghanistan Women’s XI and a Cricket Without Borders XI at Melbourne’s Junction Oval.

Knight plans to meet some of the exiled players during the second Ashes ODI at Junction Oval on Tuesday. She stressed the importance of keeping the issue in the public eye, noting that people often forget the Afghanistan women’s team. Knight hopes the match, taking place on the same day as the England-Australia Women’s Ashes Test, will bring attention to these women, sending a positive message from a heartbreaking situation.