Calls Grow for ICC Action on Afghanistan’s Cricket Amid Taliban's Gender Policies

Pressure mounts on cricket authorities to address Afghanistan's exclusion of women from sports, with boycotts and sanctions proposed.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and South Africa's sports minister have urged the ICC to address the lack of women's cricket in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
The Taliban's policies banning women's sports violate ICC rules requiring full members to support women's cricket, but Afghanistan retains its ICC membership.
Over 160 UK politicians have called for England to boycott its February 26 Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, a move the ECB opposes, favoring collective ICC action instead.
Proposed measures include withholding ICC funding from Afghanistan's cricket board and supporting the exiled Afghan women's cricket team, now based in Australia.
Concerns over player safety in Pakistan and the precedent of past boycotts, such as England's 2003 Zimbabwe decision, have added complexity to the debate.