Rashid Khan threatens to withdraw from BBL after Australia refuses to play in Afghanistan

There has been a lot chaos after Cricket Australia decided to pull out of a limited overs series against Afghanistan due to restrictions imposed on women’s rights by Taliban. Following this, many cricketers from Afghanistan have expressed their sadness over this issue.

Current Afghan captain Rashid Khan was most hurt by this decision from the CA. He is currently contracted with the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and has threatened to withdraw from the BBL.

Rashid Khan to pull out of Big Bash League

Rashid is one of the top players in International cricket and has a huge fan base all around the world. He never fails to promote his country be it in any field. His threat and concern have attracted the attention of fans all around the world and his appeal has now drawn more debate towards the CA decision.

The three-match ODI series against Afghanistan that was scheduled for March in the United Arab Emirates was cancelled by Cricket Australia (CA). The CA made this choice since there hasn’t been much progress in Afghanistan’s women’s cricket, where girls are currently prohibited from studying, using parks, and playing cricket.

The top ranked bowler, Rashid Khan, recently took over the leadership of Afghanistan from Mohammad Nabi. Following CA’s harsh decision. Rashid expressed his displeasure by showing his emotions with a heartfelt message on twitter.

“I’m very proud to represent my nation, and we’ve come a long way on the international scene. This CA judgement puts us back in that direction. I wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence in the BBL if playing against Afghanistan makes Australia feel so uncomfortable. I shall therefore seriously consider continuing in that competition.”

Rashid represented Strikers in eight games this season before departing to represent MI Cape Town in the SA20. Due to conflicting commitments, he wasn’t supposed to play in the BBL again this year.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board expresses its concerns

The Afghanistan Cricket Board termed this decision by CA as ‘pathetic’ stated that they will take this issue to the ICC. The ACB threw light on how this decision could hamper the development of cricket in their country.  

If CA did not reverse its decision, the ACB stated in its statement that it would now “rethink the participation of Afghan players in the Big Bash League.”

“The Australian Government was consulted before Cricket Australia decided to cancel its participation in the upcoming matches against Afghanistan. This was an unwise attempt to politize the sport and enter the political sphere”, the ACB further added.

It is high time for the ICC  to now step up and resolve the issue as this is the second time Cricket Australia has done something like this. Previously back in 2021, Cricket Australia had refused to host Afghanistan for a test match.

Afghanistan has improved their standard of cricket in the last couple of years. They are a fast and emerging force to be reckon with. They have already qualified for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 even before the likes of Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa.

Afghanistan and Australia only meet in ICC events. This issue concerns with the overall development of cricket as more and more teams like Afghanistan play against sides like Australia, the more their players will learn from such experiences which would benefit in uplifting the standards of cricket.