Australia Should Play Afghanistan in Bilateral Cricket, Says Usman Khawaja

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja believes his team needs to resume playing bilateral cricket series with Afghanistan, despite the continuing human rights issues stemming from Taliban rule.

Cricket Australia has twice cancelled scheduled fixtures against Afghanistan - a Test match and a T20 series - bringing up "a marked deterioration in human rights for girls and girls" beneath the Taliban government. However, the two teams continue to face each other in International Cricket Board-sanctioned global tournaments.

"I in my opinion suppose yes we ought to be playing against Afghanistan," Khawaja told reporters at an Amazon Prime occasion in Melbourne. "I am sympathetic to both aspects of the puzzle. I definitely recognize and believe a number of factors of the stance Cricket Australia has in phrases of girls' cricket in Afghanistan, however there is also some other aspect to it, of selling and growing the game."

Khawaja acknowledged the frustration felt by Afghanistan's cricketers and enthusiasts of not playing against Australia. Star spinner Rashid Khan had previously expressed his frustration, pronouncing "the people are separate from the government" and that cricket brings happiness to the Afghan people

The southpaw additionally mentioned the apparent inconsistency in permitting Afghan players to feature in Australia's home Aus T20 League competition, at the same time as refusing to excursion the USA

"It's a little bit hypocritical too if we say no we are now not going to play Afghanistan, however then allowing Afghanistan cricketers to play inside the Aus T20 League," Khawaja said. "They one hundred percent must [play], however then how do you do one and no longer the other?"

Rashid, who has been a steady performer for the Adelaide Strikers inside the Aus T20 League, echoed Khawaja's sentiments, saying: “Some things which are not under the control of anyone in cricket, and that's something we can't do anything about. If we could do something, and wish that was a kind of solution for it, we would have been happy, but I don't know what's the solution for that." 

The ongoing deadlock over bilateral cricket among Australia and Afghanistan remains a complicated and touchy difficulty, with no easy solutions in sight.