Singapore: The displaced women cricketers from Afghanistan, who fled their country due to Taliban rule, will receive key engagement opportunities during the next two global events, the ICC said during its annual conference on Sunday.
They will be involved in the women’s 50-over World Cup in India and Sri Lanka later this year and the 2026 women’s T20 World Cup in England.
During the last meeting in Harare, it was decided that a high-powered committee comprising representatives from the three richest cricket boards — India, England and Australia — will come together to help the Afghan women cricketers, most of whom fled to Australia after Taliban came to power.
“In line with ICC’s initiative for supporting the displaced women cricketers of Afghan descent, the players will receive key engagement opportunities at ICC events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 and the T20 World Cup next year in England, as well as through high-performance initiatives and domestic playing opportunities,” the ICC stated in a release.
“The initiative is being advanced through a collaborative effort led by the ICC under the supervision of Deputy Chair Mr Imran Khwaja, in collaboration with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia (CA),” it further stated.
While the ICC release didn’t specify what kind of “engagement opportunities” will be provided to them during the two global events, it has been learnt that Afghan women cricketers will get a chance to speak to cricketers and attend workshops conducted by international coaches under the aegis of ICC.
The meaning of “domestic opportunities” is still very sketchy as most of these cricketers live in Australia.
It could be a case of integrating them into the lower tier of the cricket system and give them an opportunity to play grade cricket Down Under.
