Heather Knight: ICC should do more to help women in Afghanistan

England captain Heather Knight has called on the International Cricket Council to do more for the Afghanistan women’s team, saying she feels they have been “forgotten”.

Women’s participation in sports has been effectively outlawed in the country since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

More than 20 members of their women’s cricket team fled to safety in Australia and first asked the ICC to allow them to play as a refugee team.

The issue has gained further attention in recent weeks as UK politicians wrote to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) urging the England nationals to refuse to play against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy match in Lahore, Pakistan on 26 February. Have asked to do.

Knight said the situation is “complex” but she hopes to meet some members of the Afghanistan team during the women’s Ashes series in Australia, as they play in an exhibition match against Cricket Without Borders XI in Melbourne on January 30. Are.

“I think it’s really good that it’s being talked about,” Knight told BBC Sport ahead of the opening Ashes game on Saturday (23:30 GMT). “Obviously, the situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking. Is.”

“It’s a complex issue but I think as much as we can publicize the fact that there’s a women’s team playing here, we should give a voice to those girls because it’s a remarkable story that they’re actually here. They’re out there. Managed to get out of a very difficult situation.

“I think those girls have been very forgotten. That’s my honest opinion, which is a really sad thing. There hasn’t been a huge amount of leadership when it comes to the Afghan women’s cricket team, so I would love to see that.” It would be nice to have as much media as possible for that game.”