 "SACA reaffirms commitment to women's cricket after CSA greenlights Afg ODIs")
Without disapproving of CSA's decision to go ahead with the ODI series against Afghanistan, the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) voiced its support for promoting women's participation in cricket.
South Africa will face Afghanistan in three ODIs from September 18 to 22 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, but the Asian nation continues to be the only ICC Full Member not to have a women's team.
The Proteas Men white-ball series against Afghanistan later this month is one such series that forms part of the FTP. We respect the position of CSA in this regard as the national governing body for cricket, said Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO and also the board member of the World Cricketers' Association (WCA).
However, on behalf of all professional cricketers in South Africa, it is incumbent upon SACA to reaffirm our commitment to supporting and promoting the participation of women in cricket.
The deteriorating human rights for women under the Taliban rule cannot be ignored in the context of cricket, said Breetzke in the statement.
Cricket South Africa's decision to continue with the ODI series came close on the heels of Cricket Australia's announcement that it would postpone a men's ODI series against Afghanistan because of the Taliban's refusal to allow women's participation in cricket or any other sports.
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The WCA and SACA do not condone any situation in which women's players are excluded from competing in our sport.
Every athlete has the right to equality of opportunity which is protected by international law and set out in the Universal Declaration of Player Rights, Breetzke added.
A player's right to pursue sport cannot be limited because of his or her gender, he said.
This is the first bilateral series between South Africa and Afghanistan, and the Proteas till date have played only two ODIs against the Afghans in the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.
We urge CSA to utilise the leverage available to it through this series to highlight that these rights for Afghanistan's women's players must be protected and respected, the SACA said.
The SACA is the players' union and it represents over 310 cricketers comprising the Proteas men and women national and other provincial teams.
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