Reports: Afghanistan to play under national flag in T20 World Cup

The state of Afghanistan cricket is just a reflection of the nation: an uncontrollable mess perpetrated by the new ruler, the Taliban. However, in a heartening development for all Afghan cricket fans, the chances of their team featuring in the forthcoming T20 World Cup have significantly increased.

According to a report in Sports Tak, Afghanistan Cricket Board's newly appointed chairman Azizullah Fazli has confirmed that the Mohammed Nabi-led unit will play under the national flag.

Ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, doubts have emerged about whether the Asian state will end up playing under the flag of the terrorist outfit.

As per the protocols, every participating country has to submit their respective flag to the International Cricket Council before the start of a world event. Normally, this is a non-issue. But, in Afghanistan’s case, many expected things to get complicated.

If the Mohammed Nabi-led unit was forced to play under the Taliban flag, not only would they have been banned from the tournament but the global governing body may have also taken away its full-member status.

With Fazli, a Taliban-appointed chairman, reportedly confirming that the team will play under the national flag, fans will see the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman in action in the quadrennial event.

Afghanistan earned a direct qualification in the T20 World Cup and have been clubbed with fellow neighbors India and Pakistan, New Zealand and two qualifying teams in Group 2.

Will Afghanistan be stripped off their full-member status?

Even if Afghanistan ends up participating in the World Cup, it is fair to say that they still run a huge risk of getting stripped of their full-member status.

While the Taliban have shown little resistance towards men’s cricket, they have banned women from playing the sport. According to the ICC regulations, a country should have an active men’s and women’s team to remain a member-state.

While the ICC is yet to make a decision on the issue, calls have grown louder within the cricket fraternity to ban the nation from playing cricket unless they comply with the regulations.

Cricket Australia recently threatened to cancel the historic one-off Test against Afghanistan. Tim Paine also stated that no country would be willing to play against the Asian country due to the Taliban’s stand on women’s cricket.

Meanwhile, the Taliban recently made another sweeping change in the nation's cricket administration by replacing the incumbent SCB CEO Hamid Shinwari with Naseebullah Khan.