Afghanistan men's cricketers brush off calls to boycott them at Champions Trophy

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has dismissed political calls to boycott Afghanistan’s cricket games on the eve of their first Champions Trophy match.

Politicians in England and South Africa urged their cricket authorities to forfeit the Champions Trophy group games against Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s ban on women’s sport and erosion of women’s rights.

South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said that if the ultimate decision was his then the South Africa-Afghanistan match “certainly would not happen.” But it’s scheduled to go ahead on Friday in Karachi, as is the Afghanistan-England game next Wednesday in Lahore.

“As a sportsman, our job is to play cricket and we don’t care what’s going on outside of the cricket,” Shahidi said on Thursday.

“We only control things inside the ground, so that’s our job and other things cannot put us under pressure.”

Afghanistan’s last group game is against Australia on Feb. 28 in Lahore, and its record in recent major tournaments gives it hope of an upset or two.

It beat England and Pakistan at the 50-over World Cup in India in 2023, and beat Australia and New Zealand to reach the 20-over World Cup semifinals in 2024. Afghanistan has also won its last four one-day international series, including against South Africa last September.

“We are definitely 100% looking to win this event because we’ve played a lot of quality cricket for the last two years,” Shahidi said. “It’s a good chance for us because the boys are very experienced and these conditions also suits us … hopefully we start with a win and we go with the same momentum throughout the tournament.”

Shahidi also hoped there will be sizeable support for his team at the newly upgraded National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

“A lot of Afghans live here and, last time in the Asia Cup, we saw some Afghan fans coming here. I know that a lot of Pashtuns also live here in Pakistan and hopefully the stadium will be full.”

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