Will England boycott Afghanistan at Champions Trophy? Jos Buttler opines
What's the story
England cricket team's captain Jos Buttler has spoken against a possible boycott of the upcoming match against Afghanistan in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to take place on February 26 in Lahore.
Buttler's stance comes amid severe political pressure and demands to boycott the match against what Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi termed an "insidious dystopia" and "sex apartheid" under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Here are further details.
Political pressure
Response of ECB CEO Richard Gould
Antoniazzi's letter, which was signed by over 160 British politicians, called on England's cricket team to protest against the Taliban's treatment of women and girls.
She proposed that a boycott could send a strong message against such abuses.
However, Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, rejected the idea saying a "co-ordinated, ICC-led response" was required instead of individual actions from countries.
Expert guidance
Buttler's stance on the issue
Speaking in Kolkata ahead of the 1st T20I against India, Buttler stressed that his side would listen to "experts" on the matter. He hoped the match would go ahead as scheduled.
"Political situations like this, as a player you're trying to be as informed as you can be," Buttler said. "The experts know a lot more about it, so I've been trying to stay in dialogue with Rob Key and the guys above to see how they see it."
Team confidence
Buttler confident of no individual pressure on players
Buttler was confident that unlike 2003 World Cup, when England cricket team was pushed to boycott their match against Zimbabwe, individual pressure wouldn't be exercised this time.
"The players haven't really worried too much about it," he said. "These things, you're trying to educate yourself and read up on these things."
He stressed on relying on expert opinions in such cases and hoped politics doesn't come in the way of sport.
Opposition
South Africa, Australia's stance on playing Afghanistan
On the contrary, South Africa's Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie openly backed the increasing calls to boycott Afghanistan in the upcoming Champions Trophy.
His statement came in line with British politicians who had called on England to not play against Afghanistan.
Interestingly, Cricket Australia had earlier postponed a bilateral T20I series against Afghanistan over "deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule."
However, they played against them at the World Cups eventually.