Cricket Australia calls off Afghanistan T20 series over women's rights concerns

Cricket Australia cancels T20 series with Afghanistan due to deteriorating human rights situation for women under Taliban rule.

Australia have called off a T20 series against Afghanistan citing a deteriorating human rights situation for women and girls in the Taliban-ruled country, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Tuesday.

Australia withdrew from a ODI series scheduled for March 2023 in the United Arab Emirates after the Taliban imposed strict restrictions on Afghan women, including banning them from attending universities.

The teams were scheduled to play three T20 matches in the UAE in August this year but CA said that after consultations with the Australian government it had decided to call off the series.

"The government's advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse," the cricket board said in a statement.

"For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan."

The Afghanistan Cricket Board was not immediately available to comment.

CA added that it would engage with its Afghan counterpart as well as the International Cricket Council to "... determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future".