Afghan women cricketers challenge overseas signings for Afghanistan Premier League

Afghan women's cricketers have criticised the involvement of overseas players in the Afghanistan Premier League after eight English players secured contracts in Tuesday's draft. Speaking to the BBC's Stumped podcast, players from the refugee women's team said international recruits should consider the exclusion of women from sport before joining the competition, which is expected to take place in the United Arab Emirates in December.

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BBC Sport reported that the league had not yet received International Cricket Council sanction. The England and Wales Cricket Board had urged players to reconsider taking part in September, and Ollie Pope subsequently withdrew. Alex Hales, Tymal Mills, Joe Clarke, Olly Stone, Moeen Ali, Luke Wood, Tom Moores and Chris Wood were nevertheless signed in the draft, giving England more overseas representatives than any other country.

Nahida Sapan, who captained the Afghanistan Refugee Women's XI during its summer tour of England, said overseas players could have demonstrated solidarity with Afghan women by declining to participate. She stressed that her position was not opposition to cricket or the Afghanistan men's team. Rather, she said, participation without acknowledging women's treatment risked signalling that their situation could be disregarded.

Batter Firooza Amiri also urged international players to examine the organisations and competitions they choose to represent. She distinguished support for the Afghan people from support for a system that excludes women, and said the growth of men's cricket should not obscure women's absence from the game. Women's participation in sport has been effectively prohibited since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, and many female cricketers fled the country for safety.

The dispute comes against differing approaches to Afghanistan's participation in international cricket. England and Australia do not arrange bilateral matches against Afghanistan, but England have continued to face them in global tournaments. Afghanistan retain full ICC membership despite being unable to meet the requirement to support a women's national team, according to the BBC report.

The women's players have repeatedly sought recognition as an international side and sustained financial backing. Without that recognition, they compete as the Afghan Refugee Women's Team. In April 2025, the ICC and the cricket boards of England, Australia and India announced a joint support programme for the players. That funding was extended in July, while their calls for official recognition have continued.