Reports indicate that the Afghanistan Women’s Refugee Cricket Team will tour England on June 22, where they will watch the Women’s World Cup matches, play internal T20 games and have special training opportunities.

England and Wales Cricket Board has described the tour as significant and important from both cultural and sporting perspectives. However, the board said it still has no plans for the England men’s team to play bilateral matches against Afghanistan.
At the beginning of last year, more than 200 politicians had urged the England and Wales Cricket Board not to allow England to play against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy because of the ongoing situation of women’s and human rights in Afghanistan. However, the match still took place, where Afghanistan defeated England by eight runs. Experts believe that abandoning and excluding Afghanistan’s Men’s team will have no positive outcome on the political landscape and will further weaken the game within the country.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan women’s national cricket team, which relocated to Australia after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, are now known as the Afghanistan Women’s Refugee Team and is seeking the right to represent Afghanistan in international competitions.

The Afghanistan Women’s Refugee Cricket Team played its first match in Melbourne, Australia, against Cricket Without Borders Charity XI on January 30th last year. They also travelled to India during the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. In April of the same year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) established a special task force to support these Afghan women players and created a dedicated financial fund for them, although the long-term future of this support remains uncertain.

At the same time, the Afghanistan women’s football team, which last month received permission from FIFA to return to international competitions, the women’s cricket team is now also working toward the same goal and hopes to secure a place in international women’s cricket tournaments.

At present, the Taliban have imposed strict restrictions on women’s sports and athletic activities in Afghanistan. However, Afghan female athletes abroad have continued their activities and achievements despite these limitations.