Exclusive: Match is scheduled to be played in Lahore – the city where Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by Taliban in 2009

England have been accused of making an “appalling and misogynistic” decision by going ahead with plans to play Afghanistan despite fresh calls for a boycott of next month’s Champions Trophy fixture.

A group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country's cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban's crackdown on women.

A set of politicians in the United Kingdom urged the England Cricket Board to abandon their match against Afghanistan in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 citing restrictions over women by the Taliban. In a letter signed by more than 160 lawmakers, the officials wanted the England players to speak out against the treatment of women in Afghanistan.

England's men's players have the "power" to make their own stand and refuse to play Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy, says Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi.

Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, has rejected calls from a group of British politicians for England to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy clash with Afghanistan in February, saying that the Taliban regime's clampdown on women's rights is a matter that requires a "co-ordinated,

The UK government says the International Cricket Council should "deliver on their own rules" relating to women's participation as the England men's team resist calls to boycott their upcoming match against Afghanistan.

England will not boycott their Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan. The ECB, however, reaffirmed its stand against the Taliban’s actions.

Downing Street asks ICC to ‘deliver on own rules’ over Afghanistan boycott calls - The terms of ICC membership have been directly breached by the abolition of women’s sport in Afghanistan.

ECB rejects British politicians plea for England to boycott Afghanistan game (Photo Source: X(Twitter) A group of British politicians had urged England to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 clash with Afghanistan in February.