Afghan players in tricky situation over anti-Taliban boycott calls, says coach

Afghanistan’s cricketers know things are not right at home, their coach said on Tuesday, over calls for opponents to boycott Champions Trophy matches in response to the Taliban government’s crackdown on women’s rights.

Some UK lawmakers want England to boycott Wednesday’s match, while South Africa’s sports minister had spoken against playing their game last week during the tournament in Pakistan.

“These guys are brave. They know the difference between right and wrong. It is a real tricky situation for them,” coach Jonathan Trott told the BBC broadcaster.

“We work hard to bring joy to the country and the guys are passionate, brave and proud of being able to do that, but knowing full well that there are things that are not correct.”

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Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have restricted women’s access to education and work, curbed their movement and forced them to cover their faces and bodies.

“I can see the world’s concern. I am concerned. I have daughters who play cricket,” added Trott, who was a batsman for England though born in South Africa.

“I am proud of where I come from and the change the country made for the betterment of everybody. Hopefully one day I can see that in Afghanistan.”

England’ cricket board said this week’s game would go ahead after talks between the UK government, the International Cricket Council and the players, adding that the cricketing community alone could not tackle Afghanistan’s problems.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said his side were sportsmen who could only control what happened on the field.

“We play hard, we work hard, we have good net sessions. So that’s what we’re thinking of and we only can do what we can do in the ground,” he told a press conference.

Afghanistan had 25 contracted women players in 2020, but most are now in Australia.

The Taliban say they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs and that internal matters should be addressed locally.