Australia cancel men's ODI series against Afghanistan in UAE after Taliban ban women from sport

Australia's one-day international (ODI) series against Afghanistan in March has been called off following further restrictions on women's and girls' rights imposed by the Taliban, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday.

Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration last month imposed a ban on women attending universities while girls have been banned from high school since March. They have also been excluded from parks and gyms.

Australia and Afghanistan were scheduled to play three ODIs in the United Arab Emirates but CA scrapped the series following consultations with the Australian government.

"CA is committed to supporting growing the game for women and men around the world, including in Afghanistan, and will continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country," the sporting body said.

"We thank the Australian government for its support on this matter."

Australia were scheduled to play a test match against Afghanistan in November 2021 but the fixture was postponed after the Taliban seized power in mid-August from the internationally recognised government.

Afghanistan remain the only full member nation of the International Cricket Council (ICC) without a women's team. They have continued to appear at ICC events since the Taliban takeover, however, and faced Australia during last year's Twenty20 World Cup.

Reuters