Cricket Australia postpones T20I series against Afghanistan because of ‘human rights’ issues 

Cricket Australia has opted to postpone a scheduled three-match T20I series against Afghanistan because of “a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls" in the nation after consultation with the Australian government. 

Australia were slated to play three matches against Afghanistan at a neutral venue in August as per the current men’s Future Tours Program. But CA chose to postpone the series concerning human rights issues similar to what they did between the two countries in 2021 and a proposed ODI series in March 2023. 

The decision to delay the ODI series in 2023 saw spin wizard Rashid Khan threaten to pull out from the Australia T20 League although he had given in from that danger and went into the Aus T20 League draft before missing the tournament due to injury. 

On Wednesday CA released a statement stating it had negotiated with Australian government concerning the human rights conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan and had gotten information that there had been  "marked deterioration"  in women rights since they adjourned the 2023 series. 

“Over the past 12 months CA has continued to consult with the Australian government on the situation in Afghanistan," the statement said. "The government's advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse. For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan.

"CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Board and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future."

Australia have faced Afghanistan in two World Cup fixtures in the last two years, which drew social media criticism from quickie Naveen Ul Haq. CA has formerly stated that they would not give a wide berth playing Afghanistan in events such as the World Cup because “there is a distinction between playing bilateral series against Afghanistan which falls under CA control as compared to playing in a World Cup tournament which is an International Cricket Board event and subject to their regulations."