LAHORE — As Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan’s captain, speaks to the media on the eve of his country’s Champions Trophy match against England he chooses his words very carefully, aware that the Taliban are watching.

Every press conference at this tournament is live streamed on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Facebook page.

UK journalists in attendance for this one were briefed that answers to questions about the plight of women in Afghanistan – and the calls for England to boycott this match from British MPs – were likely to draw particular attention from the regime in Kabul.

Most of the cricketers who make up the highly-talented Afghan team still live in the country. Even those that don’t, such as star spinner Rashid Khan, who moved to Dubai before the fall of Kabul in August 2021, still have family there.

Speaking openly and honestly in public could have very serious consequences.

No wonder then that Shahidi was guarded when speaking on Tuesday. A question about his thoughts on British MPs calling for England to pull out of this game was flat-batted so convincingly there’s no value in repeating the answer here.

What about the Afghanistan women’s team? The men are allowed to play at international events despite their board being in direct contravention of an ICC rule that states every nation should also be running a women’s team.

The ICC have promised to provide the exiled Afghan players now living in Australia with the funds and support to compete on the international stage.

When asked if he’d like to see this happen, Shahidi said as much as he could under the circumstances.

“Yeah, everyone likes to see everyone play,” he said. “As I said before, when it comes to politics and those things we cannot control – we are only cricket players.”

England’s players have been put in an unenviable position here. Guided by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), they have no choice but to play. They should not be criticised for it either.

The decision by western powers to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021 was made by politicians. It helped create this current situation.

Save your ire for Joe Biden, not Joe Root.

• Match: Afghanistan v England
• Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
• Time: 9am Wednesday
• How to watch: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 8.30am

Teams

Afghanistan (probable): R Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), I Zadran, S Atal, R Shah, H Shahidi (captain), O Omarzai, M Nabi, G Naib, R Khan, N Ahmed, F Farooqi

England: PD Salt (wicketkeeper), BM Duckett, JL Smith (wicketkeeper), JE Root, HC Brook, JC Buttler (captain), LS Livingstone, J Overton, JC Archer, AU Rashid, MA Wood

• Umpires: J Wilson (West Indies), S Shahid (Bangladesh)
• TV umpire: A Raza (Pakistan)
• Weather: 28 degrees, sunny

As for Afghanistan’s men, the flag they play under is the one of the former republic. So is the anthem played before each match. The Taliban tolerate that. For now. It’s a small win. Infinitesimal even.

In this context, the result of the game between these two teams at Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday doesn’t really matter, even if the stakes on the field are high.

After Australia and South Africa’s no result on Tuesday thanks to the Rawalpindi rain, whoever loses this match is definitely out of the tournament. And England know their woeful run of 17 defeats in their last 24 one-day internationals leaves them vulnerable.

One of those came against Afghanistan in the World Cup at Delhi in November 2023. It was the result that sent the campaign into a tailspin and first increased the pressure on former coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler.

Despite a change of coach, with Brendon McCullum last month adding white-ball duties to his job of running the Test team, not much has changed, with the New Zealander losing all of his first four ODIs.

The runfest at this venue on Saturday, when Australia chased down 352 with plenty to spare will be instructive to England. This match will also be played on a fresh pitch, meaning even more runs are likely.

That should play in England’s favour if their batters can fire as a unit. That didn’t happen in the opener, with Ben Duckett’s imperious 165, and Root’s 68 the only scores over 23.

The fresh surface might also help negate the threat of Afghanistan’s spinners, led by Rashid.

England have confirmed their XI, with just one change – Jamie Overton coming in for Brydon Carse, whose toe injury has ended his tournament.

With his captaincy now hanging by a thread, Buttler admitted the stakes are now particularly high for him personally.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “I think any time as an England captain, you want to perform, you want to lead your team to winning games of cricket. We haven’t been doing that enough in the recent past.”

He also praised the work of the ECB in helping educate the players about the political issues surrounding this fixture, adding: “We’re saddened by the plight of women in Afghanistan. We hope this game can be a source of hope to people.”

So as high as the stakes are for Buttler and England, at least they can put things in their proper perspective if things do go wrong.

Jonathan Trott: Players know right from wrong

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has admitted his players are concerned by the brutal repression of women in the country but are caught in an impossible position when it comes to challenging the Taliban regime.

The former England batter, who still lives in Birmingham and has never visited Afghanistan, was speaking on the eve of his team’s crunch Champions Trophy match against England.

Last month, almost 200 MPs wrote a letter calling for a boycott of the game in opposition to the Taliban’s “gender apartheid” and the fact they have disbanded the country’s women’s team in contravention of International Cricket Council rules.

The ECB resisted those calls and have said the only way to enact change in Afghan cricket is through action from the ICC.

Afghanistan’s women’s team have been living in exile in Australia following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The ICC have since promised to support them playing international cricket in the wake of the noise generated by British politicians.

Trott, a three-times Ashes winner who has been in his current job since 2022, says he has spoken to his players about the issues. Among the raft of repressive measures against women in Afghanistan, they are banned from working and girls over the age of 12 cannot be educated.

Two players have publicly spoken out in recent months, Mohammad Nabi and star spinner Rashid Khan, who last December took to social media to criticise an edict that outlawed women from receiving medical training.

“When you get the players one-on-one, some of the stories of where they come from, it is amazing they are here now,” Trott told the BBC.

“It gives you goosebumps. I have seen pictures of where they come from. I don’t think it is right for me to tell their story.

“I know they are very aware of what is going on in their country. The majority of players who have a voice on social media, they have voiced their disapproval of what is currently taking place and the importance of equality for everyone.

“These guys are brave. They know the difference between right and wrong. It is a real tricky situation for them. Perhaps you and I are not as educated of the seriousness of things.

“I try to be as compassionate about everything they are going through and the country is going through but with my own ideas and knowledge of the difference between right and wrong.

“As a side we work very hard in bringing joy to the country and the guys are very passionate and brave and very proud of being able to do that – but fully knowing full well that there are things that are not correct.”

Asked whether his team, who beat England at the 2023 World Cup and reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year, were representing the regime or the Afghan people, Trott said: “They know who they are playing for and representing. I can’t speak for individuals but can speak for my intentions and passions for the game of cricket and trying to leave the game in a better place. I will always do that.

“Hopefully we can make a difference. I know the players want to do that. They have expressed that on their social media platforms. All they are doing is asking for equality and trying to grow the game of cricket for fairness and an uplift in their country.”

Trott, 43, was born in Cape Town when South African teams were banned from international sport during apartheid. Hitting his formative years through the period of transformation he has first-hand knowledge of the power of sport to enact change.

Asked about calls for England to boycott this game, he replied: “I can see the world’s concern. I am concerned. I have daughters who play cricket. I am fully proud and encourage that. I saw the transformation of a country through sport and other things. I grew up in South Africa post the elections when [Nelson] Mandela was president.

“I think I grew up in the best country to live or grow up in the mid-90s or 2000s. I am proud of where I come from and the change the country made for the betterment of everybody. Hopefully one day I can see that in Afghanistan.”