Afghanistan Women’s Cricket History to Start Again: BCCI, CA, ECB, & ICC To Sponsor Big Initiative

On April 13 (Sunday), the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced setting up a dedicated task force to support Afghan women cricketers in exile. 

Also, the global governing body has teamed up with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia (CA) to provide the required funding. 

Under this initiative, female cricketers displaced by the Taliban rule are offered robust coaching, world-class facilities, and professional mentorship to assist their development both professionally and personally. 

Most importantly, the reports claimed that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) wouldn’t contribute any money from its annual revenue to this support plan. Rather, the financial support for this initiative will be provided by other sources. 

ICC’s Latest Strategy After Recent Meeting in Zimbabwe

After the board meeting in Zimbabwe a couple of weeks ago, it is understood that ICC, for the first time in four years, has tried to interact with Afghanistan’s female cricketers. 

The ACB is the only cricketing body that might officially approve a women’s squad. But, they have neither done the formal accreditation nor cleared the path for the Afghanistan women’s team to make its appearance on the field. This prompted the ICC to directly communicate with Afghan women cricketers to provide them with some exposure to the sport and financial support for additional training. 

In contrast to all the teams under the ICC, Afghanistan is the only full member nation that does not have a women’s cricket team. 

Moreover, ICC’s latest announcement focuses on supporting women cricketers who fled away from Afghanistan after the Taliban acquired control over the nation and strictly prohibited the participation of women in sports and shut down the teams.  

Also, it is confirmed that this new strategy will not be restricted only to the 19 Afghan cricketers who are currently residing in Australia, but also applicable to all displaced Afghan female cricket players, irrespective of their current location. 

Jay Shah Opens Up on the Initiative: Big Collaboration for a Reason 

The ICC Chairman Jay Shah spoke about the initiative by focusing on the cricket growth at a global level: 

“Yes! ICC is deeply committed to promoting fairness and ensuring every cricketer gets a chance to stand out irrespective of their situation. This partnership with our valued partners makes us proud to set up this task force and support fund, balanced with a robust high performance program, so that the displaced Afghan women cricketers can resume their journey in the sport. 

This crucial step reflects our continuing dedication to the development of cricket globally and its ability to motivate unity, strength, and hope,” Jay Shah said. 

CA and ECB CEO Statements to Support Afghanistan Women’s Cricket 

Notably, CA and ECB earlier refrained from playing a bilateral series with the Afghanistan men’s team. This is because of the diminishing status of human rights for women and girls in the nation since the Taliban’s seizure in 2021. As a result, these two cricketing nations agreed to compete against Afghanistan only in ICC tournaments like the Champions Trophy and the World Cups. 

Here’s what the CEO of CA and ECB had to say about the ICC’s new mission to foster Afghanistan women’s cricket growth: 

‘Hope Afghanistan Women’s Cricket to Achieve its Goal’: CA CEO Opinion 

Todd Greenberg, the CEO of Cricket Australia, voiced his delight at receiving strong support from the ICC: 

“Exactly! We hope this scheme motivates Afghanistan Women’s Cricket to attain its goal of improving cricket and playing at the highest achievable level. 

We are thankful to the Australian Cricket for playing a crucial role in assisting the Afghanistan women to settle in Australia and supporting the playing opportunities,” Greenberg said. 

‘Proud to Support ICC’s Initiative’: ECB CEO’s Statement 

ECB CEO Richard Gould believes that this strategy helps to uphold Afghan women cricketers’ careers as well as solidify the sport’s standards as a uniting symbol to surpass borders and confront hardships:  

“Excellent! It is a proud moment to welcome this latest proposal from ICC. In recent times, we have spoken about the requirement of proper funding to support female Afghan cricketers. Despite not being able to play in their home nation, they deserve to receive help so that they can develop and flourish in the sport. 

Having earlier contributed a huge sum of money to the Global Refugee Cricket Fund, we feel hopeful that the ICC is taking another stronger step. We wish that the Afghanistan women’s team continues to inspire women and girls all over the world,” Gould said. 

‘Not An End, It’s Beginning’: Firooza Afghan’s Opinion 

Afghanistan women’s cricketer Firooza Afghan hopes that the ICC’s initiative is the beginning point to instantly turn into action, which helps the aspiring female athletes to represent their nation once again: 

“Certainly!  This is not the end, it is a fresh beginning of Afghanistan women’s cricket history as we have just started. 

I remember the first time when I watched the men’s game as a kid, I decided to play cricket and asked a simple question to my mom: ‘Why isn’t there any women’s team in Afghanistan? And guess what, she gave a straightforward answer: ‘I hope one day you girls might be able to make it’, Afghan told. “And from that day onwards, I was waiting for the new generation who want to play cricket and envision Afghanistan women to encourage play the sport”. 

Furthermore, Afghan stated to DW that she wasn’t able to express her joyful moment, and hopes to make use of the opportunity provided by the ICC: 

Right now, I’m unable to express my feelings when I came to know about the news. I think it’s been more than 20 years. If you recall the past, we were fighting to get our rights, and I hope that this support from the ICC helps us once again create history for all Afghan women. 

It was special news, not only for me or the Afghan women’s cricket team, but also great news for the nation and Afghan women and girls around the globe, who deserve this chance. 

During our stay in Afghanistan, other women before us were volunteered to have a cricket team since 2010, so that we could play for our country like other female cricketers from nations such as India, Australia, and Pakistan,” Firooza Afghan added. 

Women Cricketers in Exile for Three Years Due to Taliban Rule

Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women have lost their government jobs and have been restricted from public life, particularly in sports. 

In other words, women’s cricket was no longer taken seriously, which forced the national team’s female players to submit their request to the ICC in written format, pleading to be recognized as a refugee team. 

Firooza Afghan was one among those women cricketers who fled to Australia six months after she received her contract to play cricket for her nation. 

Moreover, some leading cricketing nations urged the ICC to take action against Afghanistan for not having a women’s cricket team. 

Also, the Human Rights Committee asked the global governing body to suspend Afghanistan’s full membership status and ban the men’s team from participating in high-profile tournaments such as the World Cup. However, no action was taken against the men’s team, nor were any tweaks made to the nation’s membership. 

Afghan Women Cricketers’ First Match Since Fleeing Their Nation

On 30th January 2025, the female cricketers from Afghanistan for the first time participated in a competitive match since fleeing their country. The 20-over exhibition contest between Afghan Women’s XI and Cricket Without Borders XI played in Melbourne was organized by the ‘Pitch Our Future’ and garnered noticeable attention worldwide. 

However, players weren’t allowed to participate under the name of the Afghanistan women as they were not being officially acknowledged as a national team by the ICC. And they were instructed to wear custom-made kits that did not feature the official logo. 

Final Thoughts 

ICC’s new attempt should be appreciated, which strengthens the efforts of non-profit organizations. 

One such group is the Cricket Beyond Borders in Australia that supports the refugee Afghan women cricketers. Although their efforts didn’t help create an Afghanistan national women’s team, it is expected that allowing Afghan female cricketers to gain access to the sport will help them with financial assistance to meet their education and other expenses. 

The Pitch Our Future— an Australian-based group that aims to rescue the 19 formerly contracted Afghan women cricketers provides all the required details about the players to the ICC. This helps players receive ICC accreditation that allows access to various benefits. 

As CA has been helping Afghan women cricketers in several ways, it’s time for BCCI and ECB to join hands with ICC to make financial contributions so that the efforts would be further boosted and expanded to greater heights. These three cricket nation boards earn upto 51% of ICC annual revenue, with BCCI alone contributing 38.5%.