Australia’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign has come to an end at the hands of Afghanistan, first by losing to them in Kingstown, before Afghanistan beat Bangladesh two days later to qualify for the semi finals outright without needing to rely on NRR. It is the first time Afghanistan have made the semi finals of a World Cup, continuing their astonishing rise through the ranks. India and South Africa remain the only full member nations that Afghanistan have not beaten, with maiden victories over Australia and New Zealand in this T20 World Cup.
It is particularly ironic that Australia’s elimination came thanks to Afghanistan. Australia have, in the last 3 years, cancelled a one off test, an ODI series and a T20i series. The reason cited in each instance is a lack of womens rights under Taliban governance. It would be ignorant to discount economic factors in the wake of the COVID pandemic as part of the reasoning as well, particularly in the instance of the test match Australia were scheduled to host. In that same period of time, Australia have faced Afghanistan three times at World Cups: T20 World Cup in Adelaide in 2022 (a game I attended), ODI World Cup in India in 2023 and now the T20 World Cup in the Americas. In fact, the teams have only met once outside of an ICC tournament, in 2012 as a warmup game for a series against Pakistan, when Afghanistan had only recently received ODI status.
I don’t disagree that human rights abuses are cause for concern, but if Cricket Australia wants to take a hardline stance and not face Afghanistan in bilateral series, then they should be forfeiting their World Cup matches against them as well. It wouldn’t be unprecedented either, with multiple games at the 2003 ODI World Cup being forfeited. So it’s only fitting that the team Australia has refused to play unless there’s a trophy at stake has knocked them out.
My personal opinion, like Usman Khawaja, is that Australia should be playing these bilateral series. One of the criteria for being a full member nation is to have pathways and national sides for womens cricket, but it should be up to the ICC to make the judgement to strip or suspend their status as a full member, which by the letter of the law they arguably should have by now. If Cricket Australia don’t want to do that, then they should also forfeit World Cup games, instead of getting to pick and choose the moral high ground when silverwear and prize money is up for grabs.
Notably in other sports, in 2024 Australia have faced Israel (ice hockey) and Palestine (soccer), nations/states (depending on your definition) that are both locked in a war where it is undeniable that both sides are committing war crimes.
I hope that Afghanistan go all the way to win the 2024 T20 World Cup from here. I think the conditions suit them best here more than anywhere else, and it would continue to show that the playing field in international cricket is finally starting to level out. It would cap off a great tournament on the field, where co-hosts USA beat Pakistan to make the Super 8s and Canada beat full member Ireland.
To Afghanistan, congratulations and good luck for the rest of the tournament. To Cricket Australia, you deserve nothing less. If your moral concerns are truly that serious, then it’s about time you stop your hypocrisy and start forfeiting your World Cup games, instead of having a foot in each camp and only playing when there’s a financial incentive to do so.