The South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) supports women's cricket participation, reaffirming its commitment to the sport following Cricket South Africa's approval of the Afghanistan ODI series for the men's team. SACA emphasizes investing in women's cricket growth alongside men's cricket, ensuring equal opportunities and resources. South Africa will face Afghanistan in three ODIs from September 18-22 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium but remains the only ICC Full Member without a women's team.
Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO & Board Member of the World Cricketer's Association (WCA) mentioned "The Proteas Men white-ball series against Afghanistan later this month is one such series that forms part of the FTP. We respect the position of CSA in this regard as the national governing body for cricket." He added that the South African cricketers must reaffirm their commitment to supporting women's participation in cricket, as human rights issues under Taliban rule cannot be ignored. Cricket South Africa's decision to continue the ODI series follows Cricket Australia's postponement of a men's ODI series against Afghanistan as the Taliban bans women's participation in any sports.
SACA CEO further said that the WCA and SACA oppose any exclusion of women's cricketers from South Africa's sport. They believe every athlete has the right to equality of opportunity, protected by international law and the Universal Declaration of Player Rights. The SACA, representing over 310 cricketers, urges South Africa to protect and respect the rights of Afghanistan's women's players in the first bilateral series between the Proteas and Afghanistan, despite only playing two ODIs against the Afghans.
