Should teams boycott Afghanistan at the ICC Champions Trophy?

Alison Mitchell, Jim Maxwell and Charu Sharma are joined by Zimbabwe’s first black cricketer, Henry Olonga, as we ask whether boycotts work in cricket?

It’s in light of political pressure on England and South Africa to pull out of their matches against Afghanistan’s men at next month's ICC Champions Trophy. It's due to the Taliban regime's oppression of women, which includes a ban on playing sport. Olonga, alongside Andy Flower, took a stand against Robert Mugabe’s regime by wearing a black armband in the 2003 World Cup game against Namibia. It was to symbolise "the death of democracy" in the country.

Henry's been living in exile from Zimbabwe ever since and told the programme the current situation has echoes of 2003 and that the International Cricket Council and international Governments should be the ones making the decision not to play, rather than the players. We also talk to Australia Ashes winner now commentator, Mel Jones, on the role she played on getting many of those women out of the country when the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Mel’s also been involved in organising the team’s exhibition match which will be played ahead of the opening day of the Women’s Ashes Test in Melbourne later this month.

Photo: Groundmen hold a large national flag of Afghanistan on the eve of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between India and Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on October 10, 2023. Credit: (AFP via Getty Images)