Just over a month ago, there were calls for the teams in Group B, namely England, Australia and South Africa, to boycott their Champions Trophy matches against the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
British politicians called on England to boycott their fixture on February 26 against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has banned women’s and girl’s cricket in the country since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power.
In fact, South Africa played and lost to Afghanistan in the UAE in a three-match ODI series in September last year.
Power with the people
"The power lies in the team. The power lies in the people that play the sport. The power lies with them - it's in their hands," Labor MP Tonia Antoniazzi was quoted by the BBC.
"How big is England cricket? It's huge. They have a huge standing in the world of sport and they do have an influence, and I want them to realise that that influence is what they should use to make a difference.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) states that all Test playing nations should have a women’s team in place and a programme for women’s cricket.
This, however, seemingly hasn’t affected Afghanistan’s eligibility for the Champions Trophy and all their matches appear set to go ahead as scheduled.
It’s a noble notion that a politician like Antoniazzi had, but ultimately it achieved little. In hindsight, it’s probably more a case of political grandstanding than anything else.
The only entity that could really punish Afghanistan is the ICC itself, and the fact that it has not penalised the nation in any way speaks volumes.
In the meantime, countries like South Africa cannot hope to have any real effect on the situation in Afghanistan, and boycotting their fixture next week is simply not an option.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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