South Africa’s sports minister: Afghanistan at CT25 is ‘hypocritical and unethical’

Johannesburg (Web Desk) – South Africa’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, has added his voice to the growing backlash against Afghanistan’s participation in next month’s ICC Champions Trophy, comparing the Taliban regime’s treatment of women in the country to Apartheid and saying it would be “hypocritical and immoral to look the other way”.

McKenzie’s intervention comes as South Africa prepares to face Afghanistan in their tournament opener in Karachi on February 21, following similar political pressure on other Group B opponents England. Earlier this week, 160 British MPs urged the ECB to boycott their match against Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.

“If it were my decision, it would not have happened,” McKenzie stated in a statement released by South Africa’s Ministry of Sports, Arts, and Culture. “As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.”

His intervention comes after Peter Hain, a well-known anti-apartheid campaigner and former British government minister, wrote to Cricket South Africa to express his own concerns about the ban on women’s and girls’ cricket in Afghanistan, which has been in effect since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

In a subsequent statement, the CSA acknowledged receipt of Hain’s letter but echoed the ECB’s response, stating that, because the Champions Trophy is an ICC event, “the position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body in accordance with international tournament participation requirements and regulations”.

The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has also taken this approach, urging the ICC to “deliver on their own rules,” which specify that all Test-playing nations must have a national women’s squad and a women’s cricket curriculum.

However, an ICC official informed ESPNcricinfo that the Afghanistan Cricket Board could not be held accountable for policies established by the national government.

“The ICC will not punish the ACB or its players for following the laws enacted by their respective governments. We will continue to actively utilize our influence to help the ACB promote cricket and playing chances for both men and women in Afghanistan.”

Both the ECB and Cricket Australia, who complete the four-team Champions Trophy Group B, have declined to play Afghanistan in bilateral matches, with Australia postponing a T20 series set for last March.

South Africa did, however, face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series in the UAE in September, with the CSA stating at the time that there was “no justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players – both male and female – to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban.”