{"id":11377,"date":"2026-05-21T14:42:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/afghanistan-refugee-womens-team-to-tour-england-next-month-to-return-to-cricket"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:42:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:42:49","slug":"afghanistan-refugee-womens-team-to-tour-england-next-month-to-return-to-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/afghanistan-refugee-womens-team-to-tour-england-next-month-to-return-to-cricket","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan Refugee Women\u2019s Team to Tour England Next Month to Return to Cricket"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan\u2019s displaced women cricketers are set to tour England next month, marking a significant milestone in their push to restart international careers after the Taliban\u2019s return to power forced many out of sport and public life. The group will be organised as the Afghanistan Refugee Team, offering players a structured pathway back into competitive cricket.<\/p>\n<p>The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) says the touring squad will include athletes who previously had contracts with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and later left the country after being \u201csystematically excluded from sport and public life\u201d under Taliban rule. For the players, the tour is intended to be more than a series of matches\u2014it is also a statement about inclusion.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Afghanistan Refugee Team will tour England next month after players were pushed out of sports and public life.<\/li>\n<li>The ECB says the squad includes players previously contracted with the Afghanistan Cricket Board who later left the country.<\/li>\n<li>The tour starts on June 22.<\/li>\n<li>It will include Twenty20 matches and training sessions.<\/li>\n<li>Players will have the chance to attend the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup final at Lord\u2019s on July 5.<\/li>\n<li>The ECB calls the tour culturally and sportingly significant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Competition during the trip will revolve around Twenty20 cricket, with fixtures paired with training sessions designed to help the group stay match-ready. Importantly, the players will also be able to attend the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup final at Lord\u2019s on July 5, giving them a high-profile moment in the sport\u2019s biggest stages.<\/p>\n<h3>Why the ECB views it as bigger than cricket<\/h3>\n<p>The ECB described the tour as carrying \u201csignificant cultural and sporting importance.\u201d It framed the initiative as an opportunity for the women to compete as a side, while also allowing cricket in England to stand for the inclusion and protection of women\u2019s participation in sport.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the Afghanistan players later made their homes in Australia. There, they continued playing domestic cricket, but they were still unable to represent their side internationally, despite International Cricket Council requirements that full members support both men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n<p>The players have repeatedly asked the International Cricket Council to recognise them as a refugee team, seeking a formal framework that would allow them to play international cricket again. The upcoming England tour is a step in that direction, even as the wider call for recognition remains.<\/p>\n<p>Support for the return to cricket has also come through consultancy firm \u201cIt\u2019s Game On\u201d, which was co-founded by former Australia batter Mel Jones. In an ECB statement, Jones said the players have shown \u201cextraordinary courage and commitment to the game\u201d despite everything that has been taken from them.<\/p>\n<p>Jones added that the women deserve more opportunities like this and should be recognised as part of the global cricket community. She also urged that the sport move beyond short-term gestures, calling for additional planning for \u201csustained and meaningful action beyond this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Cricket\u2019s responsibility<\/h3>\n<p>ECB deputy chief executive Clare Connor said cricket has \u201ca responsibility to stand for inclusion and opportunity.\u201d Connor also stated that the ECB is proud to host the tour and support the players as they deepen their connection to the game.<\/p>\n<p>With the Afghanistan Refugee Team beginning their England campaign on June 22, the tour is set to offer both competitive cricket and a platform for wider recognition\u2014aimed at keeping women\u2019s cricket open, inclusive, and accessible even amid forced displacement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Afghanistan\u2019s displaced women cricketers are set to tour England next month, marking a significant milestone in their push to restart international careers after the Taliban\u2019s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Afghanistan Refugee Team IPL News: Tour England Next Month","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Afghanistan Refugee Women\u2019s Team to tour England next month, signaling a major comeback for displaced cricketers and a fresh path back to international cricket.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Afghanistan Refugee Team IPL News: Tour England Next Month<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Afghanistan Refugee Women\u2019s Team to tour England next month, signaling a major comeback for displaced cricketers and a 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