Afghanistan tour of Australia: ACB shocked by CA’s “knee jerk” decision, calls for a more balanced approach to one-off after Taliban takeover – Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have been left shocked by Cricket Australia’s decision after the board put out a statement suggesting that they could pull the pin on Afghanistan’s tour of Australia. The one-off Test match, the first meeting between the two teams in the longest format of the game, was scheduled to be played in November, but CA have threatened to pull the plug following the Taliban’s takeover of the Asian nation. The ACB meanwhile have pleaded with their hosts not to take a “kneejerk” decision and cancel the fixture, and adopt a more nuanced approach to the situation.
Afghanistan tour of Australia: ACB shocked by CA’s “knee jerk” decision, calls for a more balanced approach to one-off after Taliban takeover
Afghanistan tour of Australia: Cricket Australia earlier put out a statement suggesting that they would call off the one-off Test against Afghanistan, should women’s cricket cease to exist in the Taliban governed Afghanistan. Shocked by CA’s decision, ACB chief Hamid Shinwari has issued a final plea to reconsider, asking their hosts to take a similar approach to that of ICC.
An update on the proposed Test match against Afghanistan ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p2q5LOJMlw
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) September 9, 2021
In a statement, Shinwari wrote, “Since the ACB joined the International Cricket Council (ICC) and through our fast growth through an affiliate, associate and to full membership, the ICC has been aware of our cultural and religious environment.”
He added, “We believe that the ICC has had the forethought to recognise and accept that we have been doing all we can to grow cricket in the traditional cultural, religious and changing political environments of our country. The alternative to cancellation of the Test match would be for CA to take the same approach as the ICC. A considered, balanced, cricket diplomacy would be far more productive for Afghanistan and for cricket than a sudden knee-jerk reaction.”
Afghanistan tour of Australia: ACB shocked by CA’s “knee jerk” decision, calls for a more balanced approach to one-off after Taliban takeover
Afghanistan tour of Australia: There has been a great swell of support to cancel the Afghanistan vs Australia Test. Federal politicians, including sports minister Richard Colbeck along with Tasmania Premier Peter Gutwein maintaining their staunch stand against the favour of this Test.
Afghanistan is the only nation to have earned the ICC’s Full Member status despite not having an operational women’s team. The ACB announced last year that it was looking to build a team, however, the Taliban’s takeover has laid waste to those plans. As such, Afghanistan’s ICC status is set to come under review at the next board meeting in November.
