T20 World Cup 2021: Will ICC bar Afghanistan from mega event after Australia threaten to cancel one-off Test

Kabul, September 10: Afghanistan is sitting in a delicate space as the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 approaching fast. They have made the first step announcing their 15-man squad for the mega event to be held in the UAE next month.

But a controversy followed soon as Rashid Khan stepped down as captain alleging that the Afghanistan Cricket Board did not consult him before selecting the squad. And they have to appoint another veteran Mohammad Nabi as the skipper.

However, another more worrying aspect is the new Taliban regime's policy of not backing women's sport, cricket in particular in this case.

Australia had already asserted that the one-off Test against Pakistan will not go ahead unless the Taliban changes its policy. Australia Test captain Tim Paine backed the Cricket Australia stand.

"At this stage, we've heard from CA, the Australian government, the Australian Cricketers' Association, as yet we've heard nothing from the ICC, which I think is fascinating given there's a T20 World Cup in just over a month's time and Afghanistan are in that," Paine said on SEN's Jack & Painey show as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It will be interesting to see what happens in that space. Does a team get kicked out of the World Cup?

"We've heard literally no comment from the ICC. It will be interesting to see where that lands. But I would imagine it's impossible if teams are pulling out from playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores then how a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned is going to be very, very hard to see," he said.

It is in direct contrast to the ICC policy of promoting and supporting women's game across the globe.

The ICC, though not openly stated their intentions, said they are monitoring the developments in Afghanistan.

"The ICC is committed to the long-term growth of women's cricket and despite the cultural and religious challenges in Afghanistan. They have achieved steady progress in this area since Afghanistan's admission as a Full Member in 2017," an ICC official spokesperson told ANI.

"The ICC has been monitoring the changing situation in Afghanistan and is concerned to note recent media reports that women will no longer be allowed to play cricket. This and the impact it will have on the continued development of the game will be discussed by the ICC Board at its next meeting," the spokesperson added.

Since Australia has made it stand clear on the issue, the ICC too soon will have to come out in open with their view point.

"We haven't heard anything from the ICC on that front yet. But I don't think there is any issue with Afghanistan playing the T20 World Cup. Yes, we have seen the statement by Cricket Australia but we are confident of resolving the matter at the earliest," said an ACB official.

Afghanistan Squad for T20 World Cup: Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi (Captain), Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmed.

Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Farid Ahmed Malik.