‘We hope for progress’ – Cricket Australia vows to maintain bilateral relations with Afghanistan

Mitchell Marsh and Rashid Khan (Photo Source: Darrian Traynor-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Afghanistan were undoubtedly the dark horses of the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024. Led by Rashid Khan, the side made it to the semi-final of the tournament for the first time in its history. The side was drawn alongside India and Australia in the Super Eight stage of the tournament, and after they managed to defeat Bangladesh and Australia, they made it to the semi-final of the tournament, where they faced South Africa. 

One of their biggest achievements from the entire tournament was toppling Australia, and in a bid to keep up bilateral relations, Cricket Australia recently came forward to state that they will be doing their best to maintain relations with Afghanistan. 

Earlier in March 2024, Australia postponed a men’s T20I series against Afghanistan, scheduled for August this year, citing the ongoing situation in the country. This decision followed their previous postponement of an ODI series against Afghanistan.

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“We hope for progress and will continue to discuss and maintain contact with the Afghanistan Cricket Board. They had a fantastic tournament with phenomenal players and played with great passion. Regarding our bilateral matches, we have consulted extensively with stakeholders, including the Australian government, and chose to postpone our last couple of series with Afghanistan on human rights grounds,” Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley was quoted as saying by Cricketnmore.

“We maintain a close relationship and regular dialogue with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and want to see cricket thrive worldwide for both men and women. We hope for progress and continue to discuss and maintain contact with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, aiming to resume bilateral cricket against Afghanistan in the future,” he added.

It was truly a breakthrough tournament for Afghanistan, reaching their very first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024. The side will approach the subsequent ICC tournaments with an even more confident mindset and aim to give it their best shot in the upcoming bilateral series.