Cricket South Africa (CSA) has confirmed that they will not be boycotting the match against Afghanistan in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 despite calls from veteran anti-apartheid activist and the country’s sports minister to boycott the game over Taliban banning women’s sports teams in its country. Meanwhile, a British government minister has asked the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to go ahead with their match against Afghanistan to avoid penalizing the wrong people.
British Member of Parliament Lord Peter Hain had recently written a letter to CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki, asking to protest against the 21 February Afghanistan match with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and reminded him of how the Taliban has cut down on the rights of women sportspersons in its country.
South African sports minister Gayton McKenzie on Thursday said while he doesn’t have the power to boycott the game, he feels that is the right thing to do.
“It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honor cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said in a statement.
“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.”
Similar to the ECB, Cricket South Africa said ICC must take a call on Afghanistan’s participation in the tournament.
“As the Champions Trophy is an ICC event, the position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body in accordance with international tournament participation requirements and regulations,” the CSA said in a statement on Friday.
“CSA finds the treatment and suppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan abhorrent and firmly believes that women’s cricket deserves equal recognition and resources, an area in which CSA’s record on women’s cricket in South Africa speaks for itself,” the statement added.
