While Cricket Australia had been not playing any bilateral series against Afghanistan due to the Taliban government’s stance on women’s rights, an Afghanistan women’s XI comprising cricketers who took refuge in Australia will play an exhibition match against a team combined by Cricket Without Borders Charity to be played at Junction Oval, Melbourne on January 30, 2025.
The match will take place hours before the opening day of the women’s Ashes Test to be played between Australia and England at MCG on the same day.
“Many people across cricket and the community have come together to provide support for members of the Afghanistan women’s team since their relocation to Australia, and this match will be a celebration of that work. I’m delighted that their ambition to play together will be achieved in this exhibition match, which will be a wonderful addition to the many events around the day-night women’s Ashes Test,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley told Sydney Morning Herald.
While Cricket Australia has cancelled three bilateral series against Afghanistan in recent years after the Taliban government took control in Afghanistan, Australia is scheduled to host Afghanistan in a men’s Test and three T20Is in July 2026 as per the ICC FTP calendar. With some of the Afghanistan women cricketers taking refuge in Australia, the plan for the January 30 match took place recently. Some of the players from the women’s team are based in Canberra and will be competing in the match. Cricket Australia and Cricket ACT are staging the match.
“With all the time that is going, the girls are losing hope to play cricket any more. When you go to another country, it’s not easy to get into that country and start playing cricket. Also, they are not all playing in Dandenong, they are in different areas, different cities. Since we arrived here, they are feeling hopeless, they are thinking there’s not going to be a way they can play for Afghanistan. But when there is no Afghanistan team, they are not going to keep playing. They are thinking about going to other sports maybe, and they are working to send money back to their families in Afghanistan. I know Australia is my second home, but still I want to play for Afghanistan,” Firooza Amiri, one of the Afghanistan women cricketers, had told Sydney Morning Herald last month.
Earlier in July, the players had written to ICC about resuming women’s cricket in Afghanistan. “Like the Afghanistan men’s team, we aim to compete at the highest levels. We want to recruit and train girls and women who love cricket, to show the world the talent of Afghan women and to demonstrate the great victories they can achieve if given a chance through the leadership and financial support of the ICC,” the players had written to ICC as reported by Sydney Morning Herald.