Afghanistan’s exiled women cricketers are making a passionate plea to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to follow FIFA’s bold lead and recognise them as a legitimate national team, just as world football’s governing body recently amended rules to let Afghan women’s footballers compete without Taliban approval.
This urgent call gained even more weight with the 10th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set for England and Wales from June 12 to July 5, 2026. Expanded to 12 teams from the previous nine editions’ 10, the tournament represents a perfect moment for the ICC to expand opportunity, not just participation numbers, by amplifying voices silenced by gender apartheid.
These resilient athletes, displaced and training in Australia thanks to advocates like sports integrity expert Dr Catherine Ordway, a visiting scholar at the University of New South Wales School of Business in Canberra, have watched FIFA act decisively. Yet the ICC remains unresponsive. “Well, it’s absolutely not a good look,” Ordway told ABC’s Daniela Antilli. “There’s an example already out there with the International Federation for Football, and I hope that a number of other international federations will follow suit, including the cricketers.”
Former Australian cricketer and commentator played a pivotal role in the evacuation and relocation of Afghan women cricketers along with Emma Staples. Ordway, who also played a key role in resettling some cricketers Down Under, pulls no punches on the ICC’s stalled efforts. The governing body formed a task force a year ago to support these displaced players, comprising reps from the BCCI, ECB, and Cricket Australia, but it’s drawn fire for lacking momentum and representation.
“The ICC has put together a task force, which they previously put together a task force previously, which didn’t meet at all,” she notes. “At least this task force has met once, but they do not have a plan as far as we can see.” Critically, no exiled women sit on the panel, and with funding due to expire in August, the future hangs in a bit of uncertainty.
The players aren’t just fighting for themselves; they’re beacons for women and girls trapped in Afghanistan, barred from education, work, free movement, or sport. “They want to send a strong message to the women and girls stuck inside Afghanistan who are not allowed to get educated, can’t work, can’t move freely, much less play cricket,” Ordway emphasises. “They want to send a strong message that women can do anything, but the ICC just hasn’t stepped up to the plate yet.”
Questions swirl about whether the task force is mere “tokenistic” window-dressing. Ordway hopes not: “It sounded really positive when they made the announcement last year, as you said, and the women’s team were ecstatic about it.” Small wins have emerged, training camps, watching the T20 Women’s World Cup opener, matches against Indian sides, and a looming UK trip aligning with the ICC’s Edinburgh meeting in Scotland.
“I understand that there’s also a planned trip to the UK coming up. That coincides with the ICC’s meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland,” she says. “So, at the moment, the women’s team isn’t even on the agenda for the ICC. So, the fact that they’re going to be there at the same time, I’m really hopeful, will help to put some pressure on the ICC to make some positive decisions.”
This convergence could be pivotal. As the 2026 World Cup looms, with its broader field signalling cricket’s global growth, the ICC must confront the optics of inaction. Recognising these exiled cricketers as Afghanistan’s true national side wouldn’t just honour their grit, it would echo FIFA’s stand against oppression, inspire millions, and affirm that women’s cricket thrives on inclusion, not exclusion. The balls in the ICC’s court, will they make the decisive swing?
(Quotes sourced from ABC News)
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