Buttler rejects calls for England to boycott Afghanistan match

KOLKATA: Captain Jos Buttler says England´s match against Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy should go ahead after calls for a boycott over the Taliban regime´s assault on women´s rights.

A group of more than 160 British politicians have written to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) calling for England not to play the match in Lahore on February 26. Since returning to power in 2021 the Taliban have effectively banned the participation of women in both sport and broader public life.

That puts the Afghanistan Cricket Board at odds with the rules of governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC). Buttler said sports and politics should be kept separate. “Political situations like this, as a player you´re trying to be as informed as you can be,” he told reporters ahead of the first T20 against India in Kolkata on Wednesday.

“The experts know a lot more about it, so I´ve been trying to stay in dialogue with Rob Key (managing director of ECB) and the guys above to see how they see it. “I don´t think a boycott is the way to go about it,” he added.

“Certainly as a player, you don´t want political situations to affect sport. We hope to go to the Champions Trophy and play that game and have a really good tournament.” The ECB have resisted calls for a boycott, with chief executive Richard Gould saying instead he would “actively advocate” for collective action by the ICC instead.

The ICC have allowed the Afghanistan men´s team to keep competing in global competitions. England are clubbed with Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa in the group phase of the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.