The England and Wales Cricket Board has rejected the plea put forward by over 100 politicians from the United Kingdom urging England to boycott its Champions Trophy cricket match against Afghanistan.

As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, has rejected calls from a group of British politicians for England to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy clash.

The Reuters and the AP on Tuesday reported the 160 British lawmakers signed a letter that called for England's players and officials to speak out against the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan. It also asked England to not play against Afghanistan during the ICC Champions Trophy. The match in focus is scheduled for February 26 in Lahore, Pakistan.

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Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has clamped down on the rights of women and girls, restricting their access to education and work, curbing their freedom of movement, and forcing them to cover their faces and bodies.

Women and girls have also been barred from sports and gyms, a breach of the ICC rules. The Afghanistan women's team was also disbanded, with several members fleeing the country after 2021.

Last month Afghanistan's top cricketers Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi urged the Taliban regime to rethink its stance on the ban enforced on Afghan women.

In a post on X, Rashid, Afghanistan's T20 captain, said that he was sad and disappointed by the closure of medical and educational institutes for the "sisters and the mothers of Afghanistan"

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For Nabi the decision to ban girls from studying medicine is "heartbreaking" and "deeply unjust".

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In a strange co-incidence, Afghanistan's head coach is former England cricketer Jonathan Trott. In December he was offered a one-year contract extension. It was under Trott's coaching that Afghanistan pulled off a shock win over England during the 2023 ODI World Cup.