Cricket Australia on Tuesday postponed a bilateral series against Afghanistan, scheduled for August, citing deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule.

A three-match T20 series against Afghanistan scheduled for August under the ICC”s Future Tours Program has been “postponed”. The series was due to be hosted by Afghanistan, with matches expected to be played in the UAE.

This marks the third time CA has declined to play Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control of the Asian nation in September 2021 and immediately placed restrictions on female participation in sport, which CA condemned.

“For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan,” a CA statement read.

“CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future.”

CA previously cancelled a one-off Test match against Afghanistan that was scheduled to be played in Hobart in November 2021. In early 2023, CA withdrew from a three-match ODI series due to be played in the UAE in March that year.

At the time, CA kept the door ajar for future bilateral series on the proviso of improved conditions for women and girls in the country. CA today said advice from the Australian government was “that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse”.