English cricketers aiming to play in a men’s T20 franchise tournament organised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board have been urged to think about their “daughters, sisters or mothers”.
The inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League will be staged in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
England players Ollie Pope and Luke Wood have both registered for the tournament draft, held in October, along with fellow Englishmen Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, James Vince, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Laurie Evans.
Their involvement comes despite the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) refusal to schedule bilateral men’s cricket against Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.
The BBC says the ECB’s policy does not extend to franchise tournaments, meaning players can decide for themselves whether to participate.
The ECB is likely to grant players the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) required to play, provided the tournament is sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has applied to the ICC for approval to stage the tournament and that application is currently being considered.
Last year, ECB chair Richard Thompson used the term “gender apartheid” to describe the Taliban’s systematic oppression and restriction of women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.
