Australia's captain Paine says no team will want to face Afghanistan in T20 WC; slams ICC

Australia's Test captain Tim Paine has expressed his disappointment over the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to allow Afghanistan to take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Paine said that he is fascinated by the fact that the ICC has yet to issue a statement regarding the latest development in Afghanistan, where women have been barred from playing cricket of any form. Paine said it is going to be 'very hard' to see a team like Afghanistan taking part in the marquee ICC event. 

Paine, while speaking to SEN radio, said Australia doesn't want to be associated with a country that has excluded half its population from availing opportunities and other things, pointing at the Taliban's decision to ban women from playing any kind of sport that has a chance of revealing their face or body. Paine reckoned that most of the teams at the T20 World Cup, this year would be reluctant to play against Afghanistan given the latest development that has taken place in the war-torn country. 

Australia cancels Afghanistan Test

This comes after Cricket Australia on Thursday announced that the planned historic one-off Test against Afghanistan has been cancelled due to the Taliban's decision to ban women's cricket in the country. Cricket Australia announced that it would be unable to host Afghanistan for a one-off Test in November because of the Taliban's opposition to women's cricket.

A Taliban spokesperson had earlier said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not support women playing sports in their country because there's a chance that their face and body might get exposed. The Taliban believes that Islam does not allow women to be seen without their face and body entirely covered. 

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Hamid Shinwari, on Friday, issued an open letter requesting Cricket Australia not to cancel the planned Test match in November. Shinwari highlighted that Cricket Australia's decision will not impact the cultural and religious environment in Afghanistan and would only affect the sport as a whole. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not issued an official statement on the situation, but a representative said the premier cricketing body is 'concerned' by the newest development in Afghanistan, where women cricketers have been prohibited from playing the sport. The board will consider the issue at its next meeting, according to the ICC spokesperson quoted by news agency ANI.

(Image Credits: AP)