'Until something changes, this situation will remain' - ICC chief on Afghanistan without a women's team

'Until something changes, this situation will remain' - ICC chief on Afghanistan without a women's team

ICC chief Jeff Aldries said on Monday that the Afghanistan Cricket Board is struggling to develop women's cricket in the country and that the status quo will remain unless the situation changes.

Speaking about the ICCT 20 World Cup event, Ludres told the media in Dhaka on Monday that the Afghanistan Cricket Board of which we are a member. According to me, the squad cannot be filled. Until Afghanistan does not change anything. Until then, this situation will be maintained in Afghanistan. It is not that the Afghanistan Cricket Board does not develop women's cricket, but it does not want to do so.

Afghanistan is currently the only full-fledged member state without a women's team and therefore the Afghanistan Cricket Board was unable to send its women's team to the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

The teams are divided into two groups of five, with Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Qualifier 1 in Group A, while South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh and Qualifier 2 are in Group B.

In March 2024, the Australian cricket team, which had already cancelled the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan after the Taliban took over and pulled out of the ODI series last year, postponed the planned T20I series against Afghanistan, citing a lack of improvement in the Taliban's stance against women. The three-match series will be played in the UAE in August 2024.

Aldrice added that the ICC aims to expand women's cricket by increasing the number of teams in global tournaments, starting with the next ICC Women's World Cup, which will feature 10 teams.

The opportunities in the tournament are greatly enhanced. So I know that the event will be held in October. Which will include 10 teams. The next version of the Women's T20 World Cup will be a 12-team tournament and there will be talks about whether it will expand. Furthermore, Even the ICC Women's Championship is now being expanded to 10 teams, so the two teams, who are participating for the first time in Bangladesh and Ireland, are better at facing better opponents and feel good with some of the best players in the world.

"And I think it will take time for the ICC to create a structure where teams can compete. If you look at associate cricket in recent years, there have been as many women's T20 internationals as there have been. The competitive framework is sometimes good and will qualify and I think that's the next step for us.