Afghanistan’s women’s refugee cricketers are celebrating a major breakthrough after the International Cricket Council opened a pathway for the team to compete at the international level. The decision marks an important step for players who were forced to leave their country after the Taliban returned to power.
For many of these athletes, cricket became more than a sport after 2021. Players such as Benafsha Hashimi faced serious danger simply for taking part, as women’s sport came under threat amid the Taliban’s harsh restrictions. Their journey since then has been shaped by displacement, uncertainty and the effort to keep their cricket ambitions alive.
Five years on from fleeing Afghanistan, the team’s progress is being seen as recognition of both their resilience and their right to keep playing. The ICC move gives the refugee cricketers a clearer route to compete beyond exile, offering a level of opportunity that had long seemed out of reach.
The development also highlights the wider struggle for Afghan women in sport. While the players remain separated from the system they once hoped to represent at home, the new pathway signals that their careers and presence in cricket have not been erased.
