South Africa sports minister McKenzie terms Afghanistan's Champions Trophy participation as "hypocritical, immoral"

Johannesburg [South Africa], January 10 (ANI): South African sports minister Gayton McKenzie is the latest entity to raise his voice against the participation of Afghanistan in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, comparing the Taliban regime's treatment of women in their nation to the old Apartheid regime in the rainbow nation and added that the Afghans playing the tournament is "hypocritical and immoral", reported ESPNCricinfo.
McKenzie's comments come as the Proteas are all set to take on Afghanistan in their campaign opener during the Champions Trophy on February 21 in Karachi. England, another Group B opponent for Afghanistan, faced similar political pressure as a group of 160 British politicians had urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott their Lahore fixture against Afghanistan on February 26.
As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, McKenzie said in a statement from the country's Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture, " If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen. As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world."
Notably, Peter Hain, an anti-apartheid campaigner and former British government minister, had also previously written to Cricket South Africa (CSA) regarding his concerns about ban on women's cricket in Afghanistan, which has been in effect since Taliban's return to power in 2021.
In a subsequent statement, CSA acknowledged Hain's letter, but their stance was similar to that of ECB, stating that Champions Trophy is an ICC event and "position on Afghanistan must be guided by them in accordance with international tournament participation requirements and regulations"
This stance has also been taken by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who wants ICC to "deliver on their own rules" stating that all Test-playing nations should also have a national women's cricket team and a women's cricket programme.
But, an ICC spokesperson told ESPNCricinfo that Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) could not be responsible for its government's policies.
"The ICC will not penalise the ACB, or its players, for abiding by the laws set by the government of their country. We will continue to constructively use our influence to assist the ACB in developing cricket and playing opportunities for both men and women in Afghanistan," said the spokesperson.
Both ECB and Cricket Australia, who are Afghanistan's Group B opponents, have refused to play bilateral cricket against them, with Australia postponing indefinitely a T20I series set to take place last March.
South Africa did play a three-match ODI series against Afghans last year in September, with CSA saying that it will continue playing bilateral cricket with them as there is "no justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players - both male and female - to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban."
The eight-team tournament will feature 15 50-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and in Dubai. The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23 in Dubai.
Group A of the tournament features current Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh, while Group B features Cricket World Cup 2023 champions Australia, alongside Afghanistan, England and South Africa.
The eight-team tournament will feature 15 50-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and in Dubai. The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23 in Dubai.
Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will be the three venues in Pakistan which will host the tournament. Each Pakistan venue will feature three group games with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.
Lahore will also host the final on March 9, unless India qualifies, in which case it will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
The three group matches involving India, as well as the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai.
Pakistan take on New Zealand in the Group A tournament opener in Karachi on February 19. The Dubai leg begins the following day with India taking on Bangladesh.
Group B begins on February 21, with Afghanistan squaring up against the Proteas in Karachi.
A big weekend then kicks off with rivals England and Australia set to clash in Lahore on Saturday ( February 22), with the much-anticipated Pakistan-India clash set for the day later.
The eight sides in the Champions Trophy competing for the famous white winners' trophy and jackets are the teams that finished in the top eight positions on the points table of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. (ANI)