Champions Trophy – Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi voices support for Afghan women playing cricket
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“Everyone likes to see everyone play,” Shahidi said. “When it comes to politics and those things which we cannot control, we are only cricket players we can control things in the ground.”
Shahidi, though, reiterated his focus, and that of the men’s team, remained on their upcoming fixture. “We are sportspersons. We control what we can do inside the ground and we can’t worry about what’s happening out of the ground. We play hard, we work hard, we have good net sessions. So that’s what we’re thinking of.”
Shahidi’s somewhat guarded statement of support lines up with other high-profile Afghan cricketers who have spoken up in support of women’s rights in Afghanistan. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were most outspoken late last year, with both players speaking after women were banned from training as doctors.
“I’ve taken a lot of advice from lots of experts,” Buttler said. “Credit to Rob Key and the ECB. They’ve been very good at supporting me and all the players, and giving us information and education around this, and making it an ECB decision.
“We’re very saddened at the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan at the moment, and the struggles they are facing. But we hope that the game tomorrow can be a source of hope and enjoyment in what is obviously a tough time at the moment. We’re very excited about the match. Sport has a great power to unite people and give hope, and that’s what we hope this game will do.”
“These guys are brave,” he said. “They know the difference between right and wrong. It is a real tricky situation for them. They know who they are playing for and representing. We work hard to bring joy to the country and the guys are passionate, brave and proud of being able to do that, but knowing full well that there are things that are not correct.”
“When we bat first, that gives us more of a chance,” he said. “But at the same time, we beat teams in the last World Cup also, batting second. But in the South Africa game, I think that the wicket was little bit more supportive for fast bowling and when our spinners were bowling, there was no support for them. I didn’t even see one ball turning.
“We didn’t play well, especially in batting we didn’t start well. At the same time, it’s not an excuse but the world knows that we have good spinners. I didn’t see any support there, but hopefully we have some support in tomorrow’s game for our spinners.”
2.15pm GMT – This story was updated to include Jos Buttler’s quotes.
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