Cricket Australia calls off Afghanistan series for second straight year, takes another major step towards promoting equality

Cricket Australia (CA) on March 19 (Tuesday) announced its decision to postpone the white-ball series against Afghanistan owing to human rights violations in the Asian country. Australia were scheduled to cross swords against Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in August after the completion of the T20 World Cup. It is for the second straight year that the Australian cricket board has taken the stringent step and called off the series against Afghanistan.

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What did Cricket Australia say in its release?

"Following consultation with the Australian Government, CA previously postponed the ODI series against Afghanistan scheduled for March 2023 after a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls in Afghanistan, stating we would: “Continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country," Cricket Australia said in its release.

"Over the past twelve months CA has continued to consult with the Australian Government on the situation in Afghanistan. The government’s advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse. For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan.

"CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future," it added.

Cricket Australia defiant on its stance

Since the Taliban seized control over Afghanistan in 2021, several restrictions on female participation in sports came to the limelight. Since then, Cricket Australia have decided not to play against Afghanistan in bilateral events. In 2021, the one-off Test between Australia was called off while in 2023, an ODI series between the two nations was also postponed. 

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