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The Afghanistan men’s team has continued to play, and the country’s cricket board has continued to receive International Cricket Council funding despite no longer having a women’s program – as required by ICC regulations.
In last year’s carve-up of broadcast revenue from a new rights deal running from 2024-27, Afghanistan cricket was pledged ICC funding of more than $16 million a year. The board also receives an equal percentage share of revenue from the Asian Cricket Council.
The next round of ICC meetings is due to take place later this month in Sri Lanka, where any member board, including CA, has the opportunity to lead discussion on whether funding can be provided for the Afghanistan women’s cricketers. The global body also has a multi-million dollar strategic fund for use on growing the game.
Rashid Khan spoke after the World Cup game against Australia about his frustration at not being able to play the world’s leading teams more often. Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja went on to say that CA should reconsider its position.
“It actually hurts the people, and the people are separate from the government,” Khawaja said. “And also the players have stood up for the exact same cause as CA has.
“Rashid has shown me his tweets, and that’s tough to do playing for Afghanistan. So then he said all you’re doing is depriving us players too.”
There is an Olympic precedent for a refugee team in exile to take part in global events: a refugee team has taken part in each Games since 2016. Twenty20 cricket is due for Olympics inclusion in Los Angeles in 2028.
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