by The Champions Trophy match of England against Afghanistan will continue, despite calls for a boycott.
A cross-party letter, signed by nearly 200 British politicians, was sent to the Cricket Board of England and Wales (ECB) in which he was asked to refuse England to play in response to the Taliban human rights record.
The female participation in Sport in Afghanistan is effectively forbidden since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The case was discussed during an ECB board meeting on Thursday, after which the administrative body confirmed that the competition in Lahore will take place on 26 February as planned.
In a statement, the ECB said that the situation in Afghanistan “is nothing less than gender apartiness”, adding a coordinated international reaction from the cricket community is the right way ahead.
“At a cricket level, when the cricket of women and girls quickly grows all over the world, it is heartbreaking that those who grow up in Afghanistan are denied this opportunity, but the terrible suppression of women and girls through the Taliban goes so much further,” it Reads.
It added that the ECB donated £ 100,000 to the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to help female cricketers in exile, and it will continue to press the ICC to take action, including supporting the women and girls of Afghanistan that cricket want to play.
England also plays Australia and South Africa in the Champions Trophy, which will take place in Pakistan and Dubai from 19 February.
England played Afghanistan twice-on the World Cup 2022 T20 and the 2023 50-over World Cup, the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Call for a boycott of this fixture was led by Labor MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who said that the players of England had to use their “power” to “make a difference”.
Her colleague Labour Member of Parliament and culture secretary Lisa Nandy said that the game should continue, adding that Boycots were counterproductive.
When asked last month about the possibility that the players lead a boycott, similar to the refusal of England to play in Zimbabwe during the 2003 World Cup, Captain Jos Buttler said: “I don’t think a boycott is the way to do it doing.”
