Naveen-ul-Haq takes a jibe at Australia over cancelled bilateral series ahead of World Cup match

New Delhi: Australia will take on Afghanistan in their eighth ICC World Cup 2023 match on November 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

It is a crucial game for both teams as two spots are up for grabs for the knock-outs and both these teams are strong contenders for that.

Ahead of the tie, Afghanistan star seamer Naveen-ul-Haq has taken a jibe at Australia and reminded them of the three-match bilateral series in UAE they withdrew from in March 2023.

Naveen took to social media platform Instagram and wrote, “Refusing to play bilateral series, now it will be interesting to see cricket Australia stand in the World Cup. #Standrads#Humanrights or 2 points.”

Naveen mentioned human rights in his story because the reason behind Australia backing out from the bilateral series in March was human rights violations in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover.

Taliban curbed women’s rights in the country, which resulted in Cricket Australia consulting with the Australian government before cancelling the series.

“Following extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the Australian government, Cricket Australia has decided that it is unable to proceed at this time with the upcoming ICC Super League three-match men’s ODI series between Australia and Afghanistan scheduled for the UAE in March 2023,” read Cricket Australia’s statement.

The decision was taken because Taliban curbed women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities.