Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley says he would support Australia’s men’s players if any wished to express their own views on Afghanistan and whether they should continue to play the Taliban-controlled nation in World Cups and other ICC tournaments.

An Afghanistan women’s XI will take on a team representing Cricket Without Borders, an initiative developing women’s opportunities in cricket, in an exhibition at Junction Oval in Melbourne on Thursday to raise awareness of the plight of women facing persecution under the Taliban.

Related: Heather Knight lends voice to plight of Afghanistan women’s team

The match comes less than a month before the Australia men’s team plays Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy. Cricket Australia maintains a policy of meeting their scheduling requirements in ICC tournaments but not playing bilateral series with their counterparts from the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

The continued presence of the Afghanistan team in men’s ICC competition has sparked criticism internationally, and 160 English MPs signed a letter this month calling for England to boycott their match in the Champions Trophy, which gets underway next month in Pakistan.

Australia’s assistant foreign affairs minister Tim Watts said his government “will not allow the current situation in Afghanistan to become the new normal” and will continue “to speak out in favour of the human rights of women and girls”.

Hockley said that although he believes Cricket Australia is doing enough on the issue, he would support players in Pat Cummins’ team expressing their own views, as the organisation has done in previous cases such as Usman Khawaja’s advocacy for the human rights of Palestinians.

“Absolutely, we’re very supportive of players having their own views and expressing their views. But it was a very difficult decision to postpone our men’s games against Afghanistan back then [last year],” Hockley said.

“I think now, coupled with this support for the [Afghanistan] women’s team, I think there’s a general acceptance that we’re actually really shining a light on this issue.”

The Afghanistan XI for Thursday’s match is made up of players who fled to Australia when the Taliban took control in 2021.

Firoza Amiri said her team represents “millions of Afghan women that are in Afghanistan and denied their rights”, and the match is an important milestone for the players who have found a new life in Victoria and the ACT.

“It’s very special for all of us to get back together after three years, leaving everything and losing everything back home in Afghanistan, and come together again,” she said.

Captain Nahida Sapan said she had “big hope” for the fixture, “because this match can open doors for Afghan women for education, sports and the future”.

Hockley said he felt Cricket Australia has taken a leadership position from when “the degradation of human rights first started” and the organisation would continue to advocate within the ICC.

“There are mechanisms within the ICC where they can support this group of players, whether that is setting aside a level of funding that would normally be allocated to women’s programs, until such time that they’re able to resume playing on the international stage,” he said.

Hockley said Australia was “duty bound” to play fixtures at ICC events. “Again, it goes back to what can we do that’s within our control. I think we’ve been clear and consistent,” he said. “I think you have to draw a line somewhere and I think we’ve made our stance pretty clear.”

The CA boss describes the match on Thursday as a “first step” on the return of Afghanistan women to international cricket. “My hope is it promotes lots of conversations, that this becomes an annual thing, and then actually becomes more often, and ultimately that this team is able to compete on the international stage as is their want.”

Hockley finishes up in his role as chief executive in March, and will be replaced by Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Todd Greenberg. On Monday Hockley reflected on Cricket Australia’s response to the situation in Afghanistan under his leadership.

“It’s such a complex situation, it’s bigger than cricket,” he said. “But hopefully what you see this week is that we’re doing those things that are within our direct control to be able make a positive difference.”