Karachi: Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday said calls from other nations for a boycott of their Champions Trophy matches because of the treatment of women by the ruling Taliban will not affect his team. Afghanistan open their Group B campaign in the eight-team event against South Africa in Karachi on Friday. Last month South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie backed demands from British politicians for a playing boycott of Afghanistan. The England and Wales Cricket Board resisted the demand to boycott their Champions Trophy group game, but said they would not schedule a bilateral series against Afghanistan. Australia, also in Group B, have cancelled a Twenty20 international series and a Test against Afghanistan in the last two years, but also plan to play their Champions Trophy game. “We only control things inside the ground, that’s our job,” Shahidi said in a press conference in Karachi on Thursday. “The other things cannot put us under pressure.” Afghanistan face England in Lahore on February 26 and Australia at the same venue two days later. “The whole world knows that we are playing well, especially in the last three years so we are focused on our play,” Shahidi said. Female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. That puts the Afghanistan cricket board at odds with International Cricket Council (ICC) rules as the men’s team are allowed to compete. Having learnt most of their cricket in the refugee camps in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion of their country in the 1970s, Afghanistan have gone from strength to strength in international cricket. They shocked three former champions — England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. They were the losing semi-finalists in the Twenty20 World Cup last year, held in the United States and the West Indies. Shahidi said his team was not overawed by South Africa. “We have recently beaten South Africa in Sharjah so we have that confidence with us and we are not under any pressure,” said Shahidi of his team’s 2-1 win last year. “We are doing very good so we are here to win the final and not just to participate. We are definitely one hundred per cent looking to win this event.” Afghanistan boast quality spinners with Rashid Khan, ranked second in the world in one-day internationals, leading the attack. They also have hard hitting batters in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi. The Champions Trophy — the first global event hosted by Pakistan in three decades — opened on Wednesday with New Zealand beating the host country by 60 runs in Group A. India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in Dubai on Thursday. Top-two teams from each Group will qualify for the semi-finals.
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