I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because it is not necessary that women should play cricket.

Ahmadullah WASIQ, deputy head of the taliban’s cultural commission,

Women will not be allowed to play cricket or any other sport in Afghanistan, the Taliban have confirmed, in a move that threatens to plunge the country into international athletic isolation. The announcement came as Taliban fighters beat up female protesters and flogged reporters covering a demonstration in Kabul, in a signal the group would brook no challenge to its rule or its hard line position on women’s rights.

Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said women could not play sport because it would entail “exposing” their face and bodies, breaching “Islamic dress code.”

“I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because it is not necessary that women should play cricket,” Wasiq told Australian broadcaster SBS News when asked about the future of the country’s women’s cricket team.

“In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this. It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it.

“Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed.”

Twenty-five female cricketers were awarded contracts by Afghanistan’s Cricket Board in November last year and it is thought the board has continued to pay the players, though the BBC reported last week that members of the team were in hiding in Kabul.

The ban on women’s sport has, however, imperilled the future of the hugely popular men’s team, which the International Cricket Council (ICC) granted full Test match status to in 2017.

The ICC requires all 12 of its full members to have a national women’s team. It plans to take counsel from international bodies about how to address the situation with Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan men’s team are due to compete at the T20 World Cup next month, and also have a Test in Hobart against Australia in November.

Asked about the potential for the ICC to call off the Test in Australia, Wasiq said the Taliban would not compromise on its position.

“Even for this, if we face challenges and problems, we have fought for our religion so that Islam is to be followed.”

PHOTOS: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A Peace Heroes player bowls during the Twenty20 cricket trial match being played between two Afghan teams, the Peace Defenders and the Peace Heroes, at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 3.

A Taliban fighter keeps vigil as spectators watch the Twenty20 cricket match being played between two Afghan teams.