Rashid Khan urges calm between Pak-Afghan fans ahead of the Asia Cup following past record of fan incidents.
Rashid Khan, the captain of Afghanistan, said that cricket brought “people and nations together” and asked supporters to prevent a recurrence of the unpleasant circumstances that characterised Pakistan and Afghanistan’s match in Sharjah in 2022. The first game of the tri-series between the two teams will be played in Sharjah.
Conflicts between Afghan and Pakistani fans in the stands after the see-sawing match, which Pakistan won by one wicket in the last over, prompted the PCB to write to the ICC to protest, labelling it “hooliganism” at the time. After the incident, Sharjah police arrested a number of Afghanistan supporters. But there were no arrests.
Since then, the political ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated much more. However, there is a greater awareness of the possibility of flashpoints this time. Supporters of Pakistan and Afghanistan have their own areas at the stadium. There is increased security to prevent any possible crowd unrest.
However, this is not the first time that fans of the opposing teams would be split up in the general stand. This previously happened in 2023 during a bilateral series between them. Both countries have sizable diasporas in the United Arab Emirates, especially in Sharjah. Matches between them have always drawn sizable crowds.
“[My] message to everyone who comes and watches the games in the stadium is that cricket brings unity,” Rashid Khan said. “It brings people and nations together. It sends a peaceful message. This game is all about enjoyment. We play this game to enjoy ourselves and give entertainment to the crowd and the fans. It’s just a game of cricket. I ask people to come, enjoy themselves, support their respective teams and enjoy every moment of the game.”