Afghan women’s refugee team returns to world cricket post Taliban exclusion
Key takeaways
- Afghanistan women’s refugee team will tour United Kingdom in June and be guests at July’s World Cup final at Lord’s.
- It will begin on June 22 and include Twenty20 matches as well as opportunities to train and also attend the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s on July 5.
- The ECB said the tour “carries significant cultural and sporting importance”.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Afghanistan women’s refugee team will tour United Kingdom in June and be guests at July’s World Cup final at Lord’s.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Afghan players congratulate top scoring batter Zazai as she walks off the field during a match against Cricket Without Borders XI in 2025 [Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP]By The Associated Press Published On 21 May 202621 May 2026Afghanistan’s displaced female cricketers will tour England next month, a landmark moment on a five-year journey to rebuild their careers and remain part of the game following their exclusion from sport after the Taliban’s return to power.
The Afghanistan Refugee team will contain players who had been contracted to the Afghanistan Cricket Board and left the country after being “systematically excluded from sport and public life” by the Taliban, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Thursday in announcing the tour.