South Africa sports minister: Afghanistan at Champions Trophy is ‘hypocritical and immoral’

South Africa’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, has added his voice to the growing backlash at Afghanistan’s participation in next month’s ICC Champions Trophy, comparing the Taliban regime’s treatment of women in the country to Apartheid, and saying it would be “hypocritical and immoral to look the other way.”

McKenzie’s intervention comes with South Africa due to face Afghanistan in their tournament opener in Karachi on February 21, and follows similar political pressure on fellow Group B participants, England.

Earlier this week, a group of 160 British politicians called on the ECB to boycott its fixture against Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.

“If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said in a statement from South Africa’s Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture.

“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.”

His intervention comes after Peter Hain, the renowned anti-apartheid campaigner and former British government minister, wrote to Cricket South Africa to voice his own concerns about the ban on women’s and girl’s cricket in Afghanistan, which has effectively been in place since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

In a subsequent statement, CSA acknowledged receipt of Hain’s letter, but echoed the response offered by the ECB, saying that, as the Champions Trophy is an ICC event, “the position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body in accordance with international tournament participation requirements and regulations”.

This stance has also been taken by the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, who urged the ICC to “deliver on their own rules”, which state that all Test-playing nations must also have in place a national women’s team and a programme of women’s cricket.

However, an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the Afghanistan Cricket Board could not be held responsible for policies set out by its national government.

“The ICC will not penalise the ACB, or its players, for abiding by the laws set by the government of their country. We will continue to constructively use our influence to assist the ACB in developing cricket and playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan.”

Both the ECB and Cricket Australia – who complete the four-team Champions Trophy Group B – have refused to engage Afghanistan in bilateral contests, with Australia having indefinitely postponed a T20 series that had been scheduled for last March.

South Africa did, however, face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series in the UAE in September, with CSA stating at the time that it would continue to schedule bilateral engagements as there was “no justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players – both male and female – to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban.” (ESPNcricinfo)