Taliban sportswashing using Afghan cricket team

In August 2024, the Taliban sparked outrage after sharing photos of their leaders with Afghan cricketers, prompting accusations of using the team to improve their image and distract from oppressive policies.

On 23 August 2024, several Taliban and pro-Taliban accounts on X (formerly Twitter) shared photos of senior Taliban advisor Anas Haqqani alongside several members of Afghanistan’s national cricket team, laughing and appearing to enjoy each other’s company. Anas Haqqani is the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Interior and leader of the Haqqani Network.

Later the same day, Khalid Zadran, Spokesperson for the Kabul Police Command, published a 1:38-minute video from an outdoor gathering featuring Haqqani alongside several other Taliban members and cricket players, including Rashid Khan, the captain of the national team; Mirwais Ashraf, the Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) Chief; and Mawlana Muhammad Alim Besmil, a pro-Taliban poet. 

While the time and location of the photos and video are unknown, the individuals appear to be wearing the same items of clothing as in the previously shared photos, indicating that it was likely taken on the same day.

Criticism of the imagery on social media

A wave of outrage from many Afghan social media users followed the posts, accusing the cricketers of “whitewashing” the Taliban. Journalists, social activists, political commentators, and female activists, in particular, condemned Khan and his companions for mingling with the Taliban figures.

A wide spectrum of figures on X accused the cricket team and its captain, in particular, of normalising violence and promoting terrorism. 

Lina Rozbih, an Afghan journalist and news anchor for Voice of America, wrote on X that the Taliban and Haqqanis carried out killings, and whoever prefers cricket over the “blood of thousands” killed does not represent the people. She claimed that the cricket team was with the “terrorists,” fooling people by continuing to play international games under the former Afghan Republic flag.

Similarly, Asif Akbari, Head of the Civil Organisations of Afghanistan’s National Growth Network, wrote that Khan's meeting with Haqqani was a “stain on Afghanistan's sport.” He questioned Khan’s mingling with those “who killed thousands of innocent countrymen,” arguing that this was a disrespect for the “blood of the martyrs” and humanity.

Some accused the cricket team of downplaying the Taliban’s actions in favour of tribal and language affinities. The Afghan cricket team is comprised of Pashtuns, predominantly from eastern Afghanistan, where the Haqqanis are based and exert a great deal of influence. 

Aina Durkhanai, an Afghan social media activist with 45,000 followers on X, claimed that Pashtuns showed affinity to the Taliban because they share the same ethnicity. Mahdi Alizada, a Hazara rights activist, claimed that Khan was the hero of the “tribal army” referring to the Taliban. He added that Khan’s presence next to Haqqani showed the “unity” of [Pashtunism] and Islamism, which has placed its “blades” on the throats of other ethnic groups.

Social media users also criticised the cricket team and the Taliban in relation to disrespect for Afghan women and girls who have been denied education, civil rights, and freedoms at the hands of the Taliban. Many referenced the recent law, introduced on 22 August 2024 granting the Taliban further control over the lives of women (see above).

Political activist Maisam Ehsani wrote: “[t]he bitter irony of the times is that the cricket heroes are sitting in celebration after the promulgation of the disgraceful law.” Khalid Wardag, an Afghan human rights advocate, addressed Khan and expressed his disappointment that the Afghan cricket team members were celebrating with “oppressors” while the Taliban’s new laws “buried alive a generation of women.”

Response in support of the Afghan cricket team

Many social media users were also observed voicing support for the Afghan cricket team, including but not limited to pro-Taliban accounts. Some commented positively on their association with the Taliban, and others posted in defence of the team’s character. Freshta Jalalzai, a female Taliban supporter, responded to criticism of Khan’s visits to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, claiming that his mother’s tomb is in Afghanistan.

Social media users also defended the cricket team, claiming that they had no choice in their participation in the meeting with Haqqani. 

Khanekhabar, a private newsroom with 10,000 followers on YouTube, posted a video that included claims that the Afghan cricketers were forced and could not reject Haqqani’s invitation to the social event. An Afghan political writer replied to a post from a critic of the meeting, claiming that the Haqqanis coerced the cricket team into an association in order to promote their image, and stated that the cricketers had families, properties, and careers controlled by the Taliban [compelling them listen to the Haqqanis]. 

Nasir Amany, an Afghan human rights activist, wrote that failed Afghan politicians should not expect Khan to carry the burden of their failures. According to Amany, politicians and civil activists brought the country to its current situation, and the cricketers were not able to do anything. Meanwhile, Tamana Shams, a UK-based Afghan activist, voiced admiration for Khan and the Afghan cricketers for managing their positions amid the complexities of Afghan politics. 

AW was unable to confirm claims that the cricketers were coerced into meeting with Haqqani and other Taliban members.

Taliban ‘sportswashing’ of Afghan cricket

Cricket has grown in popularity in Afghanistan over the past two decades, becoming one of the most popular sports in the country. It has reportedly served as means of uniting the politically and ethnically fragmented younger generations of the Afghan population.

The Taliban have been known cricket supporters since the 1990s, partly due to the game’s well-established popularity among Pashtun communities. The group has repeatedly demonstrated its appreciation of the sport’s capacity for uniting the population and legitimising Taliban governance. 

For example, in April 2012 the Taliban announced that it would impose no restrictions on cricket upon returning to power. Then, in August 2021, within a week of their return to power in Afghanistan, Ariana news reported that the Taliban had met with ACB authorities and members of the Afghan cricket team to assure them of the Taliban’s support. In August 2023, in a meeting with the Afghan cricket team, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi added to this narrative of “sportswashing,” saying that cricket and other sports could lead to positive relations and bring people and governments closer in the region and beyond.

Taliban senior leadership have also voiced their support for the team and the ACB, both in Afghanistan and abroad. 

In January 2023, the Taliban’s Chargé d'Affaires in Doha, Qatar shared a photo of Afghan cricketers posing for a photo with Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani. A caption posted alongside the image voiced hope for the day the world’s biggest teams would be proud to play against Afghanistan. Then, in February 2024, The Washington Post quoted the Taliban’s Minister for Urban Development, who claimed that the Taliban had discussed plans to build a large cricket stadium in Kabul. This is particularly significant following the Afghan team’s achievement of a place in the T20 World Cup, which was celebrated by Muttaqi on X 25 June 2024.