Afghanistan vs Pakistan
23 October 2023
A controversial short run call during the 2023 World Cup match between Afghanistan and Pakistan led to Afghan fans accusing the umpires of costing their team the match.
Afghanistan / ICC
Ongoing 2021–2024
Afghanistan's Taliban government banned women from playing cricket — in direct violation of ICC membership requirements — yet Afghanistan's men's team continued playing in ICC tournaments, forcing cricket's governing body to confront its most challenging governance dilemma.
Australia vs Afghanistan
24 October 2023
Australia's captain Pat Cummins delivered one of the most memorable hat-tricks in World Cup history — cleaning up three Afghan batsmen in consecutive balls at Wankhede Stadium, including two with unplayable toe-crushing yorkers.
Afghanistan (women's cricket)
8 September 2021
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, women were banned from playing cricket and all sports, raising questions about Afghanistan's ICC membership and the governing body's commitment to gender equality.
Ireland and Afghanistan
22 June 2017
The ICC granted Full Membership and Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan in 2017, but the lack of guaranteed fixtures and the challenges of sustaining Test cricket raised questions about whether the expansion was genuine or merely symbolic.
ICC vs Associate Cricket
2017-06-22
The ICC's 2017 decision to grant Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan — bringing the number of Test-playing nations to twelve — was celebrated as expansion of cricket's reach but questioned by those who argued both nations lacked the infrastructure, depth, and competitive quality for the longest format.