Twitter lambastes Cricket Australia over refusal to play Afghanistan
"If playing vs Afghanistan is so uncomfortable for Australia, then I wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence in the BBL," Rashid Khan tweeted.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) reacted angrily towards Cricket Australia's decision to withdraw from scheduled ODIs in March on (Thursday) January 12. The ACB said that it raise their concern to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and accused Australia of "prioritizing political interests over fair play and integrity of the game".
Earlier on Thursday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced their decision to pull out from the ODI series against Afghanistan scheduled in UAE in March 2023. The CA explained that the reason behind their sudden decision as Taliban's restrictions on women and girls' education in Afghanistan. Notably in 2021, the CA also pulled out of from the scheduled Test against Afghanistan in Hobart over a similar issue.
Apart from ACB, the newly appointed T20I captain Rashid Khan also slameed the CA for their decision. Rashid, the world's no.1 T20I bowler, plays for Adelaide Strikers in Australia's premier T20 franchise cricket league, Big Bash League. He threatened to pull out of BBL and posted a note on his Twitter page with the caption, "Cricket! The only hope for the country. Keep politics out of it."
"I am really disappointed to hear that Australia have pulled out of the series to play us in March. I take great pride in representing my country, and we have made great progress on the world stage. This decision from CA sets us back in that journey. If playing vs Afghanistan is so uncomfortable for Australia, then I wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence in the BBL. Therefore, I will be strongly considering my future in that competition," Rashid wrote in his Twitter post.
The nation's star pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who has played two games for Sydney Sixers this season, pulled out of the ongoing BBL 2023 and asked the community to say no to BBL because of Australia's "childish decision".
Here is how Twitter reacted:
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store
Download Our App