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Afghanistan cricket chief selector Asadullah Khan criticises Cricket Australia for linking cricket with politics and discusses challenges
Mitchell Marsh and Rashid Khan at the T20 World Cup (Picture credit: ICC)
Afghanistan cricket team chief selector Asadullah Khan has said that Cricket Australia and other boards linking the sport with politics don’t augur well for the game, slamming the Kangaroos for snapping cricketing relations with Afghanistan over human rights issues.
In March last year, Cricket Australia postponed a men’s T20I series against Afghanistan after consulting the Aussie government.
This decision followed a previous postponement of an ODI series against Afghanistan that was scheduled for March 2023 and although the two teams play each other in ICC tournaments, there are no bilateral series played between them.
“Our women’s cricket team has not played any matches in recent years and this will take time to change. But Cricket Australia and other Boards linking cricket with politics, I don’t think that is a good sign for the gentleman’s game,” Asadullah said while speaking to PTI.
Asadullah emphasised that Afghanistan’s success in world cricket was achieved through merit, not favours.
“We did not get ICC full-member status as a charity; we earned it through our performance and credibility. Our spin attack is the best in the world and our winning percentage is impressive,” Asadullah said.
Cricket Australia withdrew from a scheduled T20I series against Afghanistan last year, citing the Taliban’s ongoing restrictions on women. Asadullah admitted there are challenges for women’s cricket in the nation, but argued that isolating Afghanistan isn’t the solution.
“The way Australia and other countries are treating Afghanistan cricket, there are cultural factors involved and the nation has not yet accepted some changes. But refusing to play with us because of that will only hurt men’s cricket, too,” Asadullah said.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team was disbanded after the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul, following the group’s ban on women’s participation in sports.
Asadullah expressed gratitude to BCCI for its continued support of Afghan cricket.
November 09, 2025, 19:56 IST
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