ACB responds to CA’s cancellation of series against Afghanistan:
A statement released by the Cricket Australia (CA) earlier on Thursday announced the withdrawal of the Australian team from the three match ODI series against Afghanistan which was slated to be played in the United Arab Emirates in March, citing Taliban’s ban on women education.
However, the decision did not sit well with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) which responded by expressing its disappointment over the ‘pathetic’ statement by the Australian Board. The Afghanistan cricket governing body said, “Afghanistan Cricket Board is extremely disappointed and saddened by the pathetic statement of Cricket Australia to withdraw from Afghanistan’s home three-match ODI series in March and will officially write to the International Cricket Council about the issue,”
Further, the Board mentioned the negative impact this abandonment of tour will have on the development of cricket in the Asian country.
“The decision to withdraw from playing the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan is unfair and unexpected and will have a negative impact on the development and growth of cricket in Afghanistan as well as will affect the love and passion of the Afghan nation for the game,”
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The ACB, in the statement, also demanded the decision be overturned and threatened to ‘take action’ in case the demand is not met.
“The recent decision by Cricket Australia to withdraw from upcoming matches against Afghanistan has caused a great deal of concern within the Afghan cricket community. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is closely monitoring the situation and is considering taking action, including officially writing to ICC and rethinking the participation of Afghan players in the Big Bash League (BBL), if the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan’s home series is not overturned.”
It is pertinent to mention here that many Afghanistan cricketers including Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq Murid and more have tweeted expressing their dissatisfaction with the CA’s decision as well. It has also garnered mixed reactions from cricket fans, some of whom have criticized while the others have praised the decision.
