Australia's T20I series against Afghanistan postponed due to the deteriorating human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan

Australia's upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan, which was supposed to take place in August 2024, has been postponed to an unspecified date, Cricket Australia (CA) officially announced via a statement on Tuesday, March 19.

The series was supposed to happen under the ICC's Future Tours Program in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), hosted by Afghanistan.

The statement mentioning the reason for the postponement as the deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the Asian country, read:

"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 Council 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."

"Afghanistan Cricket Board's position is they have to operate within the laws of the country" - ICC CEO Geoff Allardice

The last time the two sides met in an International fixture, Australia emerged victorious by three wickets in a 2023 ODI World Cup match in Mumbai last November.

Chasing 292 for victory, it was Glenn Maxwell's show at the Wankhede Stadium that evening as he entered the history books with his astonishing knock of 201* off just 128 balls.

Speaking to the BBC, the International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Mr. Geoff Allardice asserted that the game's governing body would continue supporting Afghanistan as a full member.

The 56-year-old opened up by saying:

"We have spoken with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and their position is they have to operate within the laws of the country and the rules as set by the government, and really the question for the ICC Board is 'do we support our member in their ability to promote cricket within the rules set by the government of the country?', and the view is yes."

In addition to canceling the one-off Test match against Afghanistan which was supposed to be held in Hobart in November 2021, Cricket Australia also withdrew from the three-match ODI series, which was scheduled to be played in the UAE in March 2023.