Jos Buttler, the England white-ball captain, believes that England should play against Afghanistan at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month, despite calls for a boycott due to concerns over the Taliban regime's treatment of women. A group of parliamentarians had urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to consider boycotting the match, highlighting the Taliban's ban on women participating in sports and the plight of the Afghanistan women's cricket team.
In response, Richard Gould, CEO of the ECB, wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) urging global leadership to address the issue, emphasizing that a coordinated approach would be more effective than unilateral actions. Buttler, while acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, expressed his view against a boycott, preferring to trust in dialogue and informed decision-making by cricket authorities.