South African sports minister Gayton McKenzie is the latest person to speak out against Afghanistan’s participation in the ICC Champions Trophy. He compared the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan to the old Apartheid system in South Africa and called it “hypocritical and immoral” for Afghanistan to play in the tournament.
McKenzie’s comments come as South Africa is set to play Afghanistan in their opening Champions Trophy match on February 21 in Karachi. England, also in Group B with Afghanistan, has faced similar political pressure. A group of 160 British lawmakers had asked the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to avoid their game against Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.
McKenzie said in a statement, “If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen. As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.”
However, an ICC representative mentioned that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) should not be held accountable for the actions of its government.
“The ICC will not penalize the ACB, or its players, for abiding by the laws set by the government of their country. We will continue to constructively use our influence to assist the ACB in developing cricket and playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan,” he said.
The eight-team tournament will have 15 one-day matches and will take place in Pakistan and Dubai. The most exciting match of the tournament, featuring arch-rivals India and Pakistan, will be on February 23 in Dubai.
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Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
