Afghanistan men's cricket team captain Hashmatullah Shahidi made it clear on Tuesday that women in his country should be allowed to play the game though he said it was beyond his control in a nation governed by strict religious laws.
The Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan in 2021 and banned women's sports, including cricket.
"Yeah, everyone likes to see everyone play," Shahidi told the media here when asked if the exiled Afghanistan women's team should be allowed to play the game.
"As I said before, when it comes to politics and those things which we cannot control -- we are only cricket players, we can control things in the ground and we belong to the ground and we are always trying to give our best when we play."
Several Afghan women cricketers shifted base to Australia following the turmoil in their country.
A group of British lawmakers had also reportedly urged the England cricket team to boycott the Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan, a request the ECB denied.
Asked if such a call can affect the team's performance, Shahidi said his team always likes to "play hard".
"We are cricket players, we are sportspersons, we are sportsmen. So, we control what we can do inside the ground. So, we don't worry about what's happening out of the ground. And that cannot do anything to our confidence.
"We play hard, we work hard, we have good net sessions. So that's what we're thinking of and we only can do what we can do in the ground," said the left-handed batter.
© 2025