England cricket chiefs respond to calls to boycott Afghanistan clash over Taliban
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England cricket chiefs are resisting demands for the men's team to boycott next month's Champions Trophy match with Afghanistan. The two countries are scheduled to meet in Lahore on 26 February in their second group game of the 50-over tournament. But a cross-party group including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, former Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Lord Kinnock, and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi have called for England to boycott the match.
In a letter, the group stated they want the ECB to "send a clear signal" that "grotesque abuses will not be tolerated". Female part participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Many of Afghanistan's female cricket players have also fled the country for their own safety. While the International Cricket Council (ICC) state full membership is conditional upon having women's cricket teams and pathway structures in place, Afghanistan's men's team have been allowed to continue playing seemingly without any sanctions.
In total, more than 160 politicians signed the letter calling for a boycott. But ECB chief executive Richard Gould believes a single country boycotting would not be useful, instead he has insisted a wider approach is needed. "While there has not been a consensus on further international action within the ICC, the ECB will continue to actively advocate for such measures. A coordinated, ICC-wide approach would be significantly more impactful than unilateral actions by individual members," Gould told BBC Sport.
