Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chief selector and former national cricketer Asadullah Khan has strongly criticised Cricket Australia (CA) for repeatedly refusing to play bilateral series against Afghanistan, terming the stance “unfair and against the spirit of the game”.
In a statement, Asadullah Khan said Cricket Australia’s decision not to engage in bilateral fixtures was unjust and targeted Afghanistan’s cricket team without merit. He said the Afghan side had earned its place in elite cricket purely through performance and merit, not through favouritism or charity.
He acknowledged that the Afghanistan women’s team had not played matches in recent years, but stressed that “change takes time”. He added that linking cricket to political matters was harmful for the sport, saying that Australia and other boards were “mixing politics with cricket”, which he believed was detrimental to the “gentleman’s game”.
Australia has not played a bilateral series against Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of Kabul in September 2021. CA had first cancelled a one-off Test scheduled in Hobart in November 2021, followed by the cancellation of a three-match ODI series that was to take place in the UAE in March 2023.
Cricket Australia maintains that it cannot play bilateral cricket against Afghanistan due to the Taliban government’s restrictions preventing women from participating in sports.
