A group of Afghan women cricketers are seeking international recognition to enable them to be able to compete against other nations.

The cricketers fled the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, arriving in Australia and forming a refugee team last year.

They played their first game at Melbourne’s Junction Oval last year under the name ‘Afghan Women’s XI’.

One of the players, Benafsha Hashimi, was contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board when a women’s national team was being developed, just before the return of the Taliban in 2021.

When the Taliban returned to power, Benafsha, then 18, fled to Australia where most of her teammates also ended up, forming a team in exile.

While the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan continue to disappear, Hashimi and her teammates have defied the regime in exile.

After the international soccer body FIFA recognised the Afghan women’s football team in exile, the cricketers’ hopes were raised that a similar move would come from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Finally, one of the girls’ teams did it because both of us, football and cricket, have been fighting since we came to Australia,” Benafsha said.

But Benafsha and her teammates are still waiting for the ICC to follow FIFA’s move.

“We were happy to see the footballers recognised. We made some social media videos to congratulate them and tell the ICC that should follow FIFA,” she said.

The players are frustrated with the ICC’s lack of engagement and while the Afghanistan Cricket Board still retains membership of the ICC, it does not operate a women’s team.

The England, India and Australia cricket boards have provided some coaching support and access to facilities and this led to a trip to India during the Women’s World Cup last year, where the Afghan side played some friendly games.

Benafsha said the experience was awesome.

“Watching our idols, it was something special. We were over the moon. I was like: ‘Oh my goodness, what’s happening,’ because usually we see them on TV or maybe sometimes in the stadium and they’re playing. But we didn’t imagine that we’re going to see them in real life.”

The players have travelled to England for another tour and to attend the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s.

But in announcing the visit, the England and Wales Cricket Board referred to the players as the ‘Afghan Refugee Women’s Team’.

Benafsha and her teammates continue to train but they are uncertain about their future ICC status.

“We are practising more than before. But we have no idea what we will do when it finishes. After August I don’t think we have anything, we don’t have any answer yet on what we will do,” she said.

Benafsha said her journey to be able to play the game she loves was a long one.

“Afghan girls who started playing, they weren’t just fighting against the ICC or the cricket board, it took me nine, ten years just to get permission to play,” she said.

“When I asked my mother, she was telling me that women just do work in the home – washing dishes, making babies.

“After that fight finished, we went to the cricket board and got our contracts. But now the fight continues,” Benafsha said.