Afghanistan’s star all-rounder Rashid Khan has expressed his disappointment over Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to indefinitely postpone their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which was scheduled for August at a neutral venue. CA cited concerns over the “marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls” in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as the reason for their withdrawal.
Rashid, who is currently playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said he was “really hurt” by CA’s decision. “It does hurt you. You do want to play against the best teams and that’s where your cricket is going to improve more and more. You only get the opportunity playing against them [Australia] in the World Cups, but not in bilateral series,” Rashid told ESPNcricinfo.
Rashid believes that the series would have been a valuable learning experience for Afghanistan, as playing against top-ranked teams like Australia is crucial for the growth of the sport in the country. “Recently, we played three T20s against India, and it helped us a lot. We nearly chased 200 [212] against India. Imagine if you wouldn’t have played that, where would the confidence come from? Playing against big teams is huge for us,” he added.
Rashid also questioned CA’s decision to exclude him from the BBL, while allowing other Afghan players to participate. “You don’t want to play with my colleagues and you want to play with me. So what’s the difference? It means I’m putting my colleagues down as well. My country down as well,” he said.
This is the third time CA has chosen not to honor a bilateral engagement with Afghanistan. In 2021, the first Test match between Australia and Afghanistan was postponed, and last year, an ODI series was called off.
