South Africa’s sports minister joins calls for Afghanistan cricket boycott

McKenzie urges his country’s cricket governing assemblage not to honour the Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan connected February 21.

South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has fixed his enactment to calls for a boycott of Afghanistan astatine the ICC Champions Trophy successful Pakistan, adding his dependable to those of British politicians who person called connected England not to play the South Asian federation astatine the tourney adjacent month.

“Cricket South Africa, the federations of different countries and the ICC (International Cricket Council) volition person to deliberation cautiously astir the connection the athletics of cricket wishes to nonstop the world, and particularly the women successful sports,” helium said successful a connection connected Thursday.

“It is not for maine arsenic the sports curate to marque the last determination connected whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, past it surely would not happen.”

England and South Africa stock the aforesaid radical with Afghanistan successful the one-day planetary (ODI) contention and are nether unit to boycott the fixtures successful effect to the Taliban government’s crackdown connected women’s rights since returning to powerfulness successful August 2021.

South Africa are scheduled to unfastened their Champions Trophy docket against Afghanistan successful Karachi connected February 21 but McKenzie urged his country’s cricket governing assemblage not to honour the fixture.

“As a antheral who comes from a contention that was not allowed adjacent entree to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would beryllium hypocritical and immoral to look the different mode contiguous erstwhile the aforesaid is being done towards women anyplace successful the world,” helium added.

More than 160 British politicians person signed a cross-party missive to the England and Wales Cricket Board, calling for a boycott of England’s fixture against Afghanistan successful Lahore connected February 26.

ECB main enforcement Richard Gould responded by calling for a azygous attack from each subordinate nations towards Afghanistan’s information successful planetary cricket.

Australia are the different squad scheduled to instrumentality connected Afghanistan, successful Lahore connected February 28.

Cricket Australia indefinitely postponed a bilateral men’s Twenty 20 bid against Afghanistan past March citing “deteriorating quality rights for women and girls successful the state nether Taliban rule” but they did play them astatine the World Cup successful India successful precocious 2023 and astatine the T20 World Cup past June.

Cricket Australia president Mike Baird past period said helium was “very arrogant of the presumption we’ve taken” aft they were accused of hypocrisy.

“We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly lasting up wherever we deliberation we should,” helium said.