Cricket South Africa (CSA) has rejected a request from a British Member of Parliament for the South Africa men’s team to boycott their match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to be played in Pakistan next month. The CSA said the decision to ban Afghanistan has to be taken by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
CSA is under pressure from certain quarters to have its team not play against Afghanistan because the Taliban government suppresses women’s rights in Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Afghanistan has imposed a ban on women’s sports and disbanded the women’s cricket team since it came back to power in 2021.
“CSA can confirm receiving correspondence from British Member of Parliament Lord Peter Hain urging South Africa to boycott its fixture against Afghanistan at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Tournament scheduled to be staged in Pakistan in February.
“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 Thursday.
“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 said.
CSA President Rihan Richards said they will continue to engage in a dialogue with ICC and other members to find a solution to the issue.
“We are of the view that a more unified and collective approach from all ICC members will be more impactful.
“CSA is committed and will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the ICC and other members to find a solution that upholds Women’s cricket in Afghanistan and influences meaningful change in that country,” he said.
The CSA statement has come in response to a correspondence by Lord Peter Hain though South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie too has urged the Proteas to boycott their 2025 ICC Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan.
“To be clear, the ICC has accepted the principle of equality in sport, and that member nations should be developing both male and female players. This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there. In the same breath, Sri Lanka was banned in 2023 for political interference.
“I am aware that the ICC, like most international sporting bodies, professes not to tolerate political interference in the administration of sport, despite its obvious inconsistency with Afghanistan. It is not for me as the
Sports Minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan.
“If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen. 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,” McKenzie said on Thursday.
Previously, a letter by United Kingdom’s Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, with nearly 160 UK members of the parliament signing it, called for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott their match against Afghanistan, to be played in Lahore on February 26.
The Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign through a Group B clash against Afghanistan at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan on February 21. The two teams are in Group B alongside England and Australia.
This is the second crisis to hit the ill-fated Champions Trophy 2025, which was earlier in threat because the Indian government has refused to allow the cricket team to travel across the border to play in Pakistan. Eventually, the ICC got Pakistan to accept to host the event in a hybrid model with India playing all their matches in Dubai.
