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On a unique learning visit, 16 Afghan cricket players who are now living in exile in Australia have travelled to Guwahati to attend the ICC Women's World Cup, which does not have a squad. The invitation to watch the World Cup matches is intended to support the group's "cricketing and personal development journeys" as they now live as refugees in Australia after being forced to leave their homeland after the Taliban took over in 2021.
The cricketers participate in Australian league structures while not formally representing Afghanistan because they are not recognised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). They will be invited to see the World Cup opener but will not play an official role.
The goal of the action is to guarantee that Afghan women cricket players can carry on with their careers while living abroad and preserve the game for upcoming generations. As soon as the players touched down at the airport, they were taken under strict security to a downtown hotel.
ICC Womens World Cup 2025:
Exiled Afghan women cricketers reach Guwahati to watch World Cup on learning tour.
— The Tatva (@thetatvaindia) September 29, 2025
Afghanistan has no team in the ICC Women's World Cup, but 16 exiled Afghan cricketers from Australia will join the tour.#Afghanistan#WomenCricket#WorldCup#Guwahatipic.twitter.com/CtFfMFEJ7f
With no formal announcement from the ICC, the specifics of the Afghanistan women's cricket team's World Cup journey have been purposefully kept under wraps. However, the governing body acknowledged in April that a special task force had been established to assist Afghanistan's female athletes by providing possibilities for coaching and mentoring.
Although the numbers have not been made public, the ICC is paying for the project with assistance from the three wealthiest boards—the BCCI, ECB, and CA. At the ICC's annual session in July, the concept of allowing Afghanistan's exiled women to attend the World Cup was solidified.
It is believed that the ICC handled their entry in India in a low-key manner out of fear of possible retaliation from the Afghan government. Women have been silenced in public places, excluded from secondary schools and universities, and forced out of public life since the Taliban took back power in 2021. Therefore, even though the ACB signed 25 players in 2020, they are unable to ratify a women's squad.
The majority of those cricket players now reside in Australia, but some are based in Canada and the United Kingdom. Visa issues have prevented some Australians from visiting India, but several participated in an exhibition match between Cricket Without Borders and an Afghanistan XI earlier this year.
Watch this space for more cricket news and updates.
