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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has increased its support for displaced women cricketers of Afghanistan to help them return to play.
Most were forced into exile when the Taliban regained power in 2021 and then effectively outlawed women from playing sport.
Many fled to Australia and held a match — without their official crest — in Melbourne earlier this year.
The ICC’s annual conference in Singapore at the weekend heard that progress had been made on the governing body’s Afghanistan women’s cricket initiative.
“The programme aims to deliver structured support,” the ICC said in a statement late Sunday.
It includes “domestic playing opportunities, and engagement at key ICC global events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England,” the statement continued, without giving details.
But reports said it will enable Afghanistan women players the chance to speak to fellow international cricketers and attend workshops conducted by coaches at the global showpieces.
The initiative is a collaborative effort by the cricket boards of India, England, and Australia under the supervision of ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja.
Moreover, the ICC also announced that England will host the upcoming editions of the World Test Championship (WTC) final until 2031.
The decision to hand over the hosting rights to England was made in light of the successful hosting of previous editions of the WTC finals.
England has previously hosted the inaugural 2021 edition, as well as the 2023 and 2025 editions.
For the unversed, South Africa is the current holder of the ICC WTC title, having defeated the defending champions Australia in the final held at the iconic Lord’s in the previous month.
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