(Cricket news) Cricket in Afghanistan has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity in the last two decades. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had granted an affiliate membership to Afghanistan in 2001, just one year after the Taliban had lifted the ban on sports and the sport has flourished since then. For a country marred by war, terrorism and foreign interference, sport has been an escape for most Afghans and cricket has quickly grown into one of the nation’s favourite pass-time.

The Afghanistan men’s team has gone from strength to strength and qualified for the 2015 World Cup in Australia. They were also granted Test status in 2017 and cricketers such as Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi are internationally renowned for their skills. However, the road has not been as straightforward for the women’s team, even without the interference of the Taliban.

Afghanistan’s national women’s cricket team was formed in 2010, but faced stiff resistance right from the very beginning. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) would prevent the women’s team from participating in international tournaments and would not arrange domestic matches unless they ‘begged’ to play. For the millions of dollars the board has invested in cricket facilities and stadiums, none of them are meant for the women’s team. To add to their troubles, persistent Taliban threats made the ACB even more hesitant to ‘allow’ their women’s cricket team to participate in tournaments. The talent was there for all to see, as the Afghanistan women’s cricket team won a six team tournament in Tajikistan in 2012 but the team was disbanded soon after.

However, as the sport grew in popularity and the men’s team began to get recognized internationally, the Afghanistan Cricket Board was forced to take the women’s game more seriously. In 2017, Afghanistan became a full member of the ICC (one of the 12) which required them to have a women’s cricket team. This meant that in November 2020, twenty five female cricketers were awarded new contracts, securing their long term future, at least on paper.

That was less than 10 months ago.

Since then, the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan at a blitzkrieg pace and in the blink of an eye, the country that took decades of foreign intervention reverted back to a rule that existed from 1996 to 2001. The question remains, what does this mean for the women’s cricket team? While the 2021 version of Taliban have indicated they are a more ‘moderate’ version of their predecessors, it’s extremely unlikely that a women’s team will continue to function. The men’s team has already been given approval to play against Australia in November, but it seems that neither the Taliban or the Afghanistan Cricket Board are too concerned about the outcome of the women’s team.

This would mean a violation of Afghanistan’s ICC membership, a fact that will not give the Taliban sleepless nights. For many girls in the country, seeing female cricketers in action represented hope for a brighter future and served as a platform to change preconceived notions about women in the country. Disbanding the women’s cricket team will not only be a loss from a sporting perspective in Afghanistan but also on a humanitarian level. Hopes of many aspiring cricketers would undoubtedly be dashed and it remains to be seen if foreign interference will enable evacuations of the current generation of Afghanistan’s athletes.

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