Eight English sign for unsanctioned Afghan league — SkimNews
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- Firooza Amiri said international players who signed up for the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League risk sending the message that women suffering in Afghanistan 'can simply be ignored', and told players to distinguish between supporting Afghan people and legitimising a system that has systematically taken away women's rights.
- Nahida Sapan, captain of the Afghanistan Refugee Women's XI on this summer's tour of England, told the BBC Stumped podcast that girls in Afghanistan have been denied the right to play cricket and many other basic rights for five years, and said foreign players had a real opportunity to stand with millions of Afghan women and girls by choosing not to participate — adding the stance is not against cricket or Afghan men's cricket.
- Ollie Pope withdrew after the ECB urged players to reconsider their involvement in September — yet eight English players (Alex Hales, Tymal Mills, Joe Clarke, Olly Stone, Moeen Ali, Luke Wood, Tom Moores and Chris Wood) were signed in Tuesday's draft, giving England more overseas representation in the Afghan league than any other country.
- Afghanistan Premier League is expected to start in December in the UAE and has not yet been sanctioned by the ICC; other overseas names in the draft include Australia's D'Arcy Short, South Africa's Imran Tahir, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera and Kamindu Mendis, while Scotland's George Munsey and Ireland's Curtis Campher also signed.
- ECB has refused to schedule bilateral cricket with Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power — a stance Australia also adopts — yet England have continued to play Afghanistan at global events including World Cups in both limited-overs formats and the Champions Trophy, the 2025 game drawing calls from MPs for a boycott.
- ICC, together with the cricket boards of England, Australia and India, announced a joint financial support programme for Afghan women's players in April 2025 and extended the funding in July; without official ICC recognition the players compete as the Afghan Refugee Women's Team, having repeatedly called for restoration as an international side and for long-term funding.
- Afghanistan's men's team has retained full ICC membership despite the country's inability to meet the membership requirement of supporting a women's national side, with Amiri saying the women's players are not withdrawing support for the men's team.
Why it matters: The ICC treats the two Afghan sides differently: it has yet to sanction the men's league, yet in April 2025 it joined England, Australia and India to fund the women's players, with that funding extended in July, while the men keep full membership and the women still play as the Afghan Refugee Women's Team.
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