Taliban use Afghanistan's cricket success to their advantage while women's team is in exile

It has often been tempting to portray Afghan cricket as a struggle against the oppressive forces within the country. The truth has always been more complex.

Cricket was allowed by the first Taliban government, which ruled from 1996 to 2001. Rather than being an English sport, it was seen as a Pakistani sport. During the Taliban’s 20-year absence from power, from 2001 to 2021, many members of the militant movement were devoted followers of the team, with commanders listening to matches on the radio.

Since the Taliban regained power, they have tried to revive the national team. Within days of retaking Kabul, Taliban officials met with the Afghanistan Cricket Board. Hamdullah Nomani, the Taliban’s minister of urban development, recently told The Washington Post that the government is discussing plans to build a large new cricket stadium in the capital.

It amounts to sportswashing: a horrific regime trying to use the team’s success for its own ends. Afghanistan’s thrilling World Cup run was cheered by street parties across the country. Of course, the faces in the crowd were all men.

Women being excluded from these scenes illustrates the horrific reality women in Afghanistan face today. It has been more than 1,000 days since Afghan girls and young women were banned from secondary schools, notes Zuzanna Olszewska, a senior lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Oxford. The Taliban demanded that no Afghan women be allowed to attend the United Nations meeting set up to discuss the international community’s response to Afghanistan, which began on Sunday.

Test status approved despite sexism

When Afghanistan were granted Test status in 2017, they did not meet the requirements for membership of the International Cricket Council for women's cricket. Their bid was still approved by existing full members. For the full member boards, including England, the lack of a women's team in Afghanistan at the time was not a barrier to their entry.

In early 2021, national contracts were introduced for 25 Afghan players. Before the women’s team had ever played a match, those contracted players fled, mainly to Australia, as the Taliban closed in on Kabul. As part of their assault on women’s rights, the Taliban quickly imposed a ban on women playing sports.

This is the dark undercurrent of the sports fairy tale. Incredibly, the Afghan men's team benefits financially from the lack of a women's team.

Funding for Afghanistan is not being cut to reflect the fact that the governing body does not support women’s cricket. The ICC does not dictate how full members should spend their money, unlike associate countries. So when Afghanistan was granted Test status, the world governing body effectively lost power over how to push the country to spend more on women’s cricket.

While Ireland, who were granted Test status at the same time, spend around £3m a year on women's cricket, Afghanistan spends nothing at all, leaving more for their men's team. The ICC has previously said it would [Afghanistan Cricket Board]or its players to abide by the laws set by their country's government: essentially, that it wants to stay out of politics. Yet funding a board that does not support women's cricket is itself a political act.

Afghan cricket chief was appointed by the Taliban

In their open letter to the ICC, the Afghan players said they were proud and excited about the success of the men's team. They did not call for a ban on the team because of the political situation, as happened in South Africa during apartheid.

We want the same opportunity, Tuba Sangar, who was the women's cricket development manager for the Afghan Cricket Board and fled to Canada when the Taliban returned, told Telegraph Sport last year. Cricket is the one thing people at least talk positively about in Afghanistan. But as a woman it's a difficult feeling for me, I wish we had the same opportunity.

Currently, only a country's governing body can select a cricket team: the Afghan Cricket Board. The head of the Afghan Cricket Board was appointed by the Taliban.

The Afghan women’s team is essentially advocating that ICC funding intended for the now-defunct Afghan women’s program be redirected to refugee women cricketers. This team would not be recognized as an official Afghan national team, so they would not be allowed to compete in World Cups. But the team would keep an idea alive: that cricket can still be used as a force for good for Afghan women.

Afghanistan remains both cricket’s best and worst story, a testament to the power of sport and also a reminder of the limits of what sport can change. As the rise of the men’s team continues, it will raise more questions about whether, while their women’s team are denied the same right, they should be allowed to play at all. The alternative path that the women’s team offers must be embraced.