King found a women’s cricket team that was not allowed to exist

Lafi, who left her country in 2021 at the age of 17 when she was displaced from Afghanistan, wants the team to empower women who are barred from playing sports.

The cricket team’s survival — and this royal meeting — was an opportunity to speak to women in Afghanistan and “show them all the things they can’t do there,” she said.

Now that she is working as a coach, she says that cricket has become her life, but it is also a lesson in not giving up.

“You get one chance in life. In cricket, if you are a batsman, you can only bat once,” she said.

Her desire for the Afghanistan women’s cricket team is to be able to play as a men’s team now as part of the official cricket world and under their own national flag.

Teammate Shabnam Sanasan said it was unfortunate that the team was unable to participate in this summer’s World Cup.

But the Afghan women’s group was delighted to meet the king and welcomed the public show of solidarity.

“Back in Afghanistan, women don’t have the right to play cricket, go out, study or do anything,” she said.

We are here to play cricket – but not just cricket, we are here to fight for them and that meant a lot to us.