"It's impossible for them to take part in ICC T20 World Cup" - Tim Paine casts doubts over Afghanistan's participation

Australia's Test captain Tim Paine thinks it will be difficult for Afghanistan to participate in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, slated to commence on October 17 in the UAE and Oman.

Incidentally, Paine's comments came after Cricket Australia (CA) scrapped their one-off Test against Afghanistan due to the Taliban's ban on women's sports.

Tim Paine, who is shocked by the International Cricket Council's (ICC) awkward silence, said that Afghanistan can't compete in next month's global T20 meet. Speaking to SEN radio show, Tim Paine said:

"I don't think we want to be associated with countries that are taking opportunities or things off literally half their population."

"We've heard nothing from the ICC, which is fascinating given there is a T20 World Cup in just over a month's time. I'd imagine it's impossible [for Afghanistan to take part] if teams are pulling out of playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores. How a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned event is going to be very, very hard to see," he added.

Incidentally, Rashid Khan stepped down from the leadership roles moments after Afghanistan announced their ICC T20 World Cup 2021 squad, with the star spinner at the helm. The leg-spinner cited he was not consulted before picking the squad as the reason for relinquishing the captaincy with immediate effect.

🙏🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/zd9qz8Jiu0

— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) September 9, 2021

Click here for the entire T20 World Cup live score for every match with commentary.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan are placed with India, Pakistan, New Zealand and two qualifying teams in the Super 12s.

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"You have to have an international women's team" - Tim Paine on Taliban banning women's sport

✍️ Statement on proposed Afghanistan Test. pic.twitter.com/z5dWNn7zxb

— Australian Cricketers' Association (@ACA_Players) September 9, 2021

Backing Cricket Australia's move to scrap the Test match from a moral point of view, Tim Paine also highlighted that barring women from participating in sports is a human rights violation and that they do not want to be a part of it.

“(The Hobart Test) is not looking good, we are in a world of trouble no doubt about that, but the reasoning around it is probably fair enough,” Paine said.

“There are probably two levels to it. There’s the cricket aspect to it from an ICC point of view that to be a Test-playing nation you have to have an international women’s team, obviously with the Taliban at the moment banning women from playing any sport and that has implications at an ICC level."

"Secondly from a female, human rights point of view, excluding half of your population from trying to do something is not on. I don’t think we want to be associated with countries that are taking things or opportunities off literally half of their population," Tim Paine added.

The one-off Test between Australia and Afghanistan is slated to commence on November 27 at Hobart.