Afghanistan women's players to attend World Cup opener
Key Takeaways
- Exiled Afghan women cricketers living in Australia will attend the Women's World Cup 2025 opener in Guwahati as spectators.
- The players are not officially recognized by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) but are playing in Australian league structures.
- The ICC has a 'dedicated task force' to support Afghan female cricketers, funded by the ICC, BCCI, ECB, and CA.
- Details about the players' trip are being kept quiet due to the ICC's caution regarding potential retaliation from the Afghan government.
- The Taliban takeover in 2021 has led to the exclusion of women from public life and prevented the ACB from ratifying a women's team.
A group of Afghanistan's women's cricketers, currently living in exile in Australia, are set to attend the Women's World Cup 2025 opener between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Although they will attend only as spectators and have no formal role, this marks one of the first attempts to integrate them into the global game following the Taliban takeover in 2021. The ICC confirmed in April it would form a dedicated task force, funded by the ICC, BCCI, ECB, and CA, to support these female cricketers. The lack of publicity surrounding their arrival is reportedly due to the ICC adopting a cautious stance to avoid potential retaliation from the government of Afghanistan, which has excluded women from public life. The exiled players, contracted by the ACB in 2020, largely reside in Australia, with some facing visa challenges for the trip to India.
