Melbourne tie can open doors for Afghan women

New Delhi: Nahida Sapan, who will captain Afghanistan in their T20 match against Cricket Without Borders, believes Thursday’s game at the Junction Oval can open doors for females in the country in all aspects and has called on the ICC to give the exiled team more support.

Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the entire women’s team along with their families, were rescued from the country and settled in various Australian cities like Melbourne and Canberra. Since settling in Australia, Nahida has been playing club cricket for Carnegie in Melbourne.

“It’s really special for us, especially for Afghan women because this is a very historic moment for Afghan women. We can show, when we play on this ground, we play for Afghanistan. This is a win for Afghan women, as together, we are building not just a team, but a moment for change and progress. It’s very special.

“We have big hopes for this match, because this match can open doors for Afghan women, for education, sport and future. We don’t want this to be our first and last match. We want more matches. We want more support,” said Nahida to reporters on Monday.

Firoza Amiri, who plays club cricket for Dandenong in Victorian Premier Cricket and has been vocal about the future of Afghanistan female cricketers, stated she’s excited about playing with the entire team for the first time.