ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Exiled Afghan women cricketers to attend India vs Sri Lanka opener in Guwahati

India will face Sri Lanka in the opening match of the Women’s World Cup 2025, and the spotlight will shine not only on the players on the field but also on some of those off it. A group of Afghan women cricketers, currently living in exile in Australia, will be in attendance at the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Stadium in Guwahati. This marks one of the first attempts to integrate them into the global cricketing community.

Although they do not officially represent Afghanistan, since the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) does not recognize them, the players are active in league structures in Australia. At the World Cup opener, they will have no formal role but will be welcomed as spectators.

"[BCCI secretary] Devajit Saikia knows exactly what details about this. He will guide us and we are awaiting more details. The Afghanistan players will be here tomorrow and we will make arrangements for that,” said ACA President Taranga Gogoi to ESPNcricinfo.

The details of the Afghanistan women cricketers’ trip to the World Cup have been deliberately kept under wraps, with no official announcement from the ICC. In April, however, the governing body confirmed the creation of a dedicated task force to support Afghanistan’s female players, offering coaching and mentorship opportunities.

The funding for the initiative is being provided by the ICC, along with contributions from the three wealthiest boards, the BCCI, ECB and CA, though exact figures have not been disclosed. The idea of enabling Afghanistan’s exiled women to travel to the World Cup was firmed up at the ICC’s annual conference in July.

At the time, a tentative plan was drawn up for the players to attend a training camp in Bengaluru, play fixtures against Indian domestic sides, and watch several World Cup matches. For now, the group is still expected to play some games, but their attendance at matches beyond the tournament opener remains uncertain.

The ICC’s low-key handling of their arrival in India is understood to stem from concerns over potential backlash from Afghanistan’s government. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, women have been pushed out of public life, barred from universities and secondary schools, and silenced in civic spaces. As a result, the ACB is unable to ratify a women’s team, despite having contracted 25 players back in 2020.

Most of those cricketers now live in Australia, with others based in the UK and Canada. Not all of those in Australia have been able to travel to India due to visa hurdles, but many featured earlier this year in an exhibition match between an Afghanistan XI and Cricket Without Borders.