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CNN
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Australia’s males’s cricket crew has withdrawn from a collection of upcoming matches in opposition to Afghanistan in protest over the ruling Taliban’s restrictions on girls and ladies’ training and employment, Cricket Australia (CA) stated in a press release Thursday.

The groups have been scheduled to play three One Day Worldwide (ODI) video games within the United Arab Emirates in March, however CA determined to cancel the collection after “intensive session” with “a number of stakeholders together with the Australian authorities,” the assertion stated.

“CA is dedicated to supporting [and] rising the sport for ladies and men world wide, together with in Afghanistan, and can proceed to have interaction with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved circumstances for girls and ladies within the nation,” it added.

In December, the Taliban introduced the suspension of college training for all feminine college students. The transfer adopted a call in March to bar ladies from returning to secondary colleges, coming after months-long closures that had been in place for the reason that hardline Islamist group took over Afghanistan in August 2021.

Later that month, the Taliban ordered all native and worldwide non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to cease their feminine staff from coming to work, warning that non-compliance would consequence within the revocation of their licenses.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) responded to CA’s decision on Thursday, describing it as “pathetic” and “an try to enter the realm of politics and politicize the game.”

“By prioritizing political pursuits over the ideas of truthful play and sportsmanship, Cricket Australia is undermining the integrity of the sport and damaging the connection between the 2 nations,” the assertion added.

“The choice to withdraw from enjoying the upcoming ODI collection in opposition to Afghanistan is unfair and surprising and may have a adverse impression on the event and development of cricket in Afghanistan, in addition to have an effect on[ing] the love and fervour of the Afghan nation for the sport.”

The ACB stated it was contemplating what motion to tackle the matter, together with the opportunity of writing to the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) and “rethinking the participation of Afghan gamers” in Australia’s home Twenty20 competitors, the Huge Bash League (BBL).

The ACB assertion adopted feedback from outstanding Afghan participant Rashid Khan.

Khan, who performed for the Adelaide Strikers on this 12 months’s BBL, accompanied a statement on Twitter with the phrases: “Preserve politics out of it.”

“I’m actually dissatisfied to listen to that Australia have pulled out of the collection to play us in March,” Khan wrote.

“I take nice delight in representing my nation and we now have made nice progress on the world stage. This choice from CA units us again in that journey.

“If enjoying vs Afghanistan is so uncomfortable for Australia then I wouldn’t wish to make anybody uncomfortable with my presence within the BBL. Subsequently I will likely be strongly contemplating my future in that competitors.”

CA had beforehand backed out of a proposed Take a look at match in opposition to Afghanistan as a result of be hosted in Tasmania in November 2021 over the Taliban’s ban on girls taking part in sports activities.

“Driving the expansion of ladies’s cricket globally is extremely necessary to Cricket Australia. Our imaginative and prescient for cricket is that it’s a sport for all, and we help the sport unequivocally for girls at each stage,” CA stated on the time.

Australia’s sports activities minister Anika Wells on Thursday stated Canberra helps Cricket Australia’s transfer.

“The Australian authorities welcomes Cricket Australia’s choice to withdraw from the upcoming males’s One Day Worldwide collection in opposition to Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s elevated suppression of ladies and ladies’ rights,” she tweeted.

Though the Taliban repeatedly claimed it could defend the rights of women and girls, the group has finished the alternative, stripping away the hard-won freedoms for which girls have fought tirelessly over the previous 20 years.

The United Nations and at the least half a dozen main international support teams have stated they’re quickly suspending their operations in Afghanistan following the ban on feminine NGO staff.