'Do not isolate us': Afghanistan cricket board urges to keep game 'out of politics'

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has urged the Australian cricket board to not penalise the men's cricket team over Taliban rulers' suggestion that they might ban women from the sport.

Recently, a Taliban official said it was "not necessary" for women to play any sport as it would be against Islam if women players faced a situation where their face and body might be "uncovered".

Responding to the same, Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday said it would cancel the historic maiden Test between the two countries, which wasscheduled to take place in November.

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As per ICC rules, all Test playing nations must have a women's team as well.

Now, the Afghan board's CEO Hamid Shinwari released a lengthy statement as he expressed "shock and immense disappointment" at the potential cancellation of the Australia-Afghanistan Test. He said it is "sudden and unexpected" and called it a "knee-jerk reaction".

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"The ACB is powerless to change the culture and religious environment of Afghanistan," Shinwari said in a statement. "Do not isolate us and avoid penalising us," he added.

"We ask Cricket Australia and the whole cricketing world to keep the door open for us, walk with us, do not isolate us and avoid penalising us for our cultural and religious environment," Shinwari said.

"We accept that CA sees cricket as 'a sport for all and we support the game unequivocally for women at every level'. We understand, too, why 'if recent media reports that women's cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated', CA might believe they have 'no alternative' but to refuse to host the scheduled test match," he said.

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Shinwari said it fears that if other countries follow CA, then Afghanistan will be alienated from the cricket world and the game may cease to exist in the country.

"If the CA decides to cancel the test match and isolate the Afghan men's national team, it will have no impact upon those cultural and religious values as they stand. The spokesman for the government has unequivocally stated this," he said.

It said the Taliban's diktat regarding women's participation in cricket was not substantially different to the ACB's cultural and religious environment during the earlier governments.

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"ICC has been aware of our cultural and religious environment and it has taken a balanced, diplomatic, sensitive and considerate approach as we have worked to develop every aspect of the game of cricket in our country despite the situations we have faced."

"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," he added.

ACB chairman Azizullah Fazli, however, told AFP he had spoken with Cricket Australia on Friday.

"I asked them to keep cricket out of politics," he said. "Talks are ongoing and I am hopeful that, God willing, the Test match will be played on time."

Read the statement here:

Recently, Australia Test captain Tim Paine said it would be "impossible" for Afghanistan to compete in next month's T20 World Cup as other countries might refuse to play against them following Taliban's ban on women's cricket in the war-ravaged country.

Paine backed the decision of Cricket Australia (CA) which all but confirmed on Thursday that the men team's season-opening Test against Afghanistan, slated to start on November 27, will be scrapped due to the Taliban's order.

"I don't think we want to be associated with countries that are taking opportunities or things off literally half their population," Paine was quoted as saying on SEN radio.

"I'd imagine it's impossible (for Afghanistan to take part) if teams are pulling out of playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores.

"How a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned event is going to be very, very hard to see," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)