Australia withdraw from ODI series against Afghanistan

Australia's men's team has withdrawn from their one-day international (ODI) series against Afghanistan in March following further restrictions on women's and girls' rights imposed by the Taliban, Cricket Australia (CA) said on January 12. Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration last month imposed a ban on women attending universities. Girls have been banned from high school since March. They have also been excluded from parks and gyms. Australia and Afghanistan were scheduled to play three ODIs in the UAE but Cricket Australia scrapped the series after "extensive consultation" with stakeholders, including the Australian government. The series formed part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Super League, where the top eight teams automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Australia have already qualified for the tournament. Australia were scheduled to play a test match against Afghanistan in November 2021 but the fixture was postponed after the Taliban seized power in August of that year. Afghanistan remain the only ICC full member nation of without a women's team. They have continued to appear at ICC events since the Taliban takeover, however, and faced Australia during last year's Twenty20 World Cup. ICC chief executive Geoff Allardyce has said Afghanistan's lack of commitment to women's cricket is a concern for the sport's global governing body and that the matter will be discussed at its next board meeting.