Australia again postpones Afghanistan series over human rights concerns

Cricket Australia Tuesday announced its decision to postpone its upcoming men's series against Afghanistan over deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country.

"Over the past 12 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," the board said in a statement.

The development comes as the Kangaroos were set to take on Afghanistan's men's side in a three-match T20I series scheduled to take place in August this year.

This is the third time that the Australian board has declined to play against Afghanistan citing human rights concerns as previously the Kangaroos withdrew from a three-match One-Day Internationals (ODI) series in January 2023 which was set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Cancellation of the series then had irked Afghan players and fans alike who expressed their dismay at the Australian board's decision.

Before that, a one-off Test match was also cancelled before the two sides which was to be played in Hobart, Australia in 2021.

Reiterating its support for the inclusion of women and girls in cricket around the world, Cricket Australia has stressed that it would "continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council (ICC) 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 is pertinent to know that despite refusing to play bilateral matches, Australia have continued to play Afghanistan in the ICC events with their thrilling World Cup 2023 being the recent most memorable clash.