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Follow UsGayton McKenzie, minister of Sports, Arts, and Culture in the South African government, slammed all those engaging with the Afghanistan team and their being allowed to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, to be held in Pakistan and UAE (only India matches and one semi-final). He said that if it were up to him, he would not allow South Africa to play Afghanistan at any level.
The reasoning behind McKenzie’s critique is the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, which does not allow women equal participation in sports and other activities. He compared the Taliban rule as equal to what South Africa faced during Apartheid.
"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,” McKenzie said in a statement issued by the ministry.
This action by the South African ministry comes after Peter Hain, a renowned anti-apartheid campaigner and former British minister called upon both the Sports Ministry as well as Cricket South Africa (CSA) and expressed his concerns about the issue.
However, CSA towed the lines of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in which they had said that it is up to the ICC to decide during a world event whether they allow Afghanistan to play or not and individual boards have nothing but lose points if they deny playing an opposition.
"The position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body following international tournament participation requirements and regulations,” CSA said in a statement.
Earlier, though, South Africa engaged in a bilateral ODI series against the Afghans, hosted in UAE, with the justification, “No justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players - both male and female - to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban."
While the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer had asked the ICC to "deliver on their own rules" which state that any Test-playing nation must have a women’s team as well.
The ICC’s stance on the matter is clear when they have specified that just because the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) are bound to obey the law of the land governed by the Taliban, they can’t be penalised for the actions of their government.
"The ICC will not penalise 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,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted an ICC official as saying.
Both Australia and England don’t engage with Afghanistan on a bilateral level, and Cricket Australia even cancelled a T20I series against them, scheduled in March 2024.
Afghanistan is drawn in Group B for the Champions Trophy alongside South Africa, Australia, and England. They open their campaign against the Proteas on February 21 in Karachi.
