Sport
South Africa confirms it will continue playing bilateral cricket with Afghanistan
In a statement issued on Thursday, CSA confirmed that although it believes “women’s cricket deserves equal recognition and success,” it would not unilaterally isolate the Afghanistan men’s team for its country’s government policy.
Cricket South Africa has confirmed it will continue to engage Afghanistan in bilateral fixtures because it does not believe in punishing the men’s team for the Islamic Emirate’s actions in their home country.
CSA’s statement comes in response to criticism including from activist organisation Lawyers for Human Rights, which called for CSA to boycott Afghanistan due to the Islamic Emirate’s policies on women and girls.
In a statement issued on Thursday, CSA confirmed that although it believes “women’s cricket deserves equal recognition and success,” it would not unilaterally isolate the Afghanistan men’s team for its country’s government policy.
“CSA remains mindful that gender equity should never come at the expense of one gender over another,” the statement said. “We recognise that advocating for the advancement of one gender should not undermine the rights of the other. CSA believes there is no justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players – both male and female – to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban (IEA). We will continue to engage with member countries within the formal structures of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to address this matter.”
Cricket Australia, on the other hand, has taken the opposite position and on advice from its government has refused to play Afghanistan bilaterally in protest against the Islamic Emirate’s policies on women and girls.
South Africa and Afghanistan are currently playing a three-match ODI series in the UAE.
Afghanistan won the first ODI by six wickets to register their first ever victory in cricket against South Africa.
The second ODI will be on Friday.
Khurasan Faryab and Ariana Khost played out a 1-1 draw in the 32nd match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan in Kabul on Thursday.
The match was played at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium.
Rafiullah Mohammadi put Khurasan Faryab ahead in the closing minutes of the first half, giving his side a 1-0 lead at the break.
Ariana Khost stepped up the pressure in the second half, and their efforts paid off in the 84th minute when Omid Sarwari found the back of the net to level the score.
The two sides shared the points after neither team could find a winning goal.
Khurasan Faryab will face Sorkh Poshan Khafi on October 4, while Ariana Khost will take on Omar Zawak Herat on October 5.
All sixth-season Roshan Afghanistan Champions League matches are being broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Afghanistan’s cricket stars Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai have maintained their positions at the top of the latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings.
Rashid Khan remains the No. 1 ODI bowler in the world with 714 rating points.
Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed is second with 675 points, while South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj has moved up to third with 667 points.
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner is fourth with 644 points, followed by India’s Kuldeep Yadav on 623.
Meanwhile, Azmatullah Omarzai continues to hold the top position in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings with 337 points, giving Afghanistan two players at No. 1 in different ODI categories. Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe and Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh follow him in the list.
Abu Muslim Farah beat Omar Zawak Herat 4-0 in the 30th match of the sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League, delivering an impressive performance.
The match was played today (Wednesday) at the Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium.
Samiullah Naderi scored Abu Muslim Farah’s opening goal in the final minutes of the first half.
Abu Muslim Farah continued their attacking play in the second half, with Aman Sardari scoring the team’s second goal in the 69th minute with a spectacular header.
Omid Rajabi and Mirois Ghafouri then added two more goals to complete a 4-0 victory for Abu Muslim Farah.
Amanullah Sardari, captain of Abu Muslim Farah, was named Player of the Match against Omar Zawak Herat.
Abu Muslim Farah will face Ariana Khost in their next match on October 2, while Omar Zawak Herat will take on Istiqlal Kabul on the same day.
The sixth season of the Roshan Afghanistan Champions League is being broadcast live on Ariana Television.
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