ICC waits on Afghanistan’s stance on women’s cricket

The International Cricket Council said that Afghanistan has talked about continuing women’s cricket in the Asian country, but the apex cricket board is looking for more concrete steps from the nation. The Afghan men’s team recently took part in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Their preparation was under threat after it was learned that that the Taliban won’t be allowing women in Afghanistan to play cricket. The team won two out of five matches, beating Scotland and Namibia, in the Super 12 and bowed out of the multi-nation tournament.

Geoff Allardice, the interim CEO of the ICC, said that the apex board has kept its fingers crossed regarding Afghanistan’s next step towards women’s cricket.

“Our goal is to see men and women playing cricket in Afghanistan. We’ve supported them and the team has performed at this event. You’ve seen their players in a number of events now,” Allardice told the reporters, TOI reported.

Afghanistan have said to us that women’s cricket is continuing, says ICC interim CEO

“In terms of how our board will consider the situation in Afghanistan at its meeting next week, they will get a report on how things are travelling,” he said.

“They have said to us that women’s cricket is continuing. They certainly haven’t given us an indication that it has stopped. Time will tell, in terms of how that plays out. Yes, we have been in regular communication with them from the time things changed in their country,” Allardice mentioned.

In the meantime, it’s also been learned that United States cricket could get a major ICC event in the next cycle from 2024 onwards. Allardice also said that the ICC is looking to expand the game of cricket globally.

“Taking an ICC event or a World Cup of any description to a developing cricket country has a huge impact whether it’s on facilities or awareness of the game particularly when the local team is involved,” he added.

Moreover, Allardice talked about the prospects of cricket featuring in the Olympics. Women’s cricket will be a part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games next year. India and Australia are set to face each other in the opening game at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.