Richard Gould, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said England will not boycott its upcoming match against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy next month despite calls from a group of British politicians to withdraw from the event to protest the Taliban’s oppression of women’s rights.

In a letter dated Jan. 6, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi and more than 160 parliamentarians signed a letter urging the ECB to speak out against the Taliban for banning women from sports and disbanding the women’s cricket team.

“Aside (from) being morally repugnant, this is a direct contravention of International Cricket Council rules that require all test nations to support and fund women’s cricket,” the letter read, adding, “We urge ECB to consider a boycott of the upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champion’s Trophy Group stage on February 26^th to send a clear signal that such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated.”

In a response letter, Mr. Gould dismissed calls for a boycott, suggesting that a coordinated response by the International Cricket Council (ICC) would have more impact than an action by individual member nations. He also said a boycott could negatively impact Afghans, who see cricket as a source of hope and inspiration.

“It’s crucial to recognize the importance of cricket as a source of hope and positivity for many Afghans including those displaced from the country,” Gould said.

The letter calling for the boycott took issue with the lack of action from ICC, saying “The blatant denial of opportunities for Afghan women cricketers is appalling, and forms just one element of the Taliban’s unconscionable oppression of women and girls that continues unabated. Sport was only the first joy to be removed from women in Afghanistan and since then life for them has become incomprehensibly unbearable with the Taliban removing their most basic human rights and freedoms at a prolific scale.”

Mr. Gould, who has served as CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board since 2023, said his organization condemns the Taliban’s record on women’s rights and seeks to work with the ICC to find appropriate responses and solutions. ICC members no longer schedule bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan. But an English boycott of the upcoming Champions Trophy game won’t be part of the process.

“We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the UK Government, other stakeholders, the ICC, and other international cricket boards to explore all possible avenues for meaningful change,” Mr. Gould said.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, women have been effectively banned from participating in sports. In response to the regime’s restrictions on women’s rights, Australia has refused to play several men’s cricket series against Afghanistan in recent years. Despite this, the two teams faced each other in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.