England captain Jos Buttler gives blunt reason for Afghanistan boycott rejection
WATCH NOW: Paul Coyte discusses the latest sport headlines
England cricket captain Jos Buttler has rejected calls for a boycott of next month's Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, despite pressure from more than 160 UK politicians.
The cross-party group, which includes Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage, had signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board to refuse to play the February 26 match in Lahore.
The politicians' demands came in response to the Taliban regime's restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan, where female participation in sport has been effectively outlawed since 2021.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould wrote to the International Cricket Council condemning what he called "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan.
Jos Buttler has rejected calls for England to boycott playing cricket against Afghanistan
PA
Gould stopped short of calling for an immediate boycott but urged the ICC to place conditions on Afghanistan's full member status regarding women's cricket.
The ICC's regulations state that full membership is conditional upon having women's cricket teams and pathway structures in place.
However, Afghanistan's men's team has been allowed to continue participating in ICC tournaments without apparent sanctions.
The ICC believes it should use cricket's influence to encourage change rather than punish players for government policy.
Speaking ahead of England's T20 match against India, Buttler said: "Political situations like this, as a player you're trying to be as informed as you can be."
"The experts know a lot more about it, so I've been trying to stay in dialogue with Rob Key and the guys above to see how they see it," the England captain added.
"I don't think a boycott is the way to go about it."
Buttler emphasised his reliance on expert guidance, stating: "There's been some good stuff written about it that I've tapped into and I've spoken to quite a few people to try to gather expert opinion. I'm led by those experts on situations like this."
The Champions Trophy tournament begins on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai, with England scheduled to face Afghanistan in Lahore a week later.
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
England will take on Afghanistan in February
PA
"The players haven't really worried too much about it," Buttler revealed, addressing the team's mindset ahead of the controversial fixture.
"Certainly as a player, you don't want political situations to affect sport," he added.
The England captain concluded by expressing his hopes for the tournament: "We hope to go to the Champions Trophy and play that game and have a really good tournament."
You may like
