Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan has appealed to supporters to steer clear of the unruly scenes that spoiled the Pakistan–Afghanistan fixture in Sharjah three years ago. “Cricket brings unity,” he said. “It brings people and nations together. It sends a peaceful message. This game is all about enjoyment… I ask people to come, enjoy themselves, support their respective teams and enjoy every moment of the game.”
Friday’s match is the first of the short T20 tri-series also involving the UAE. Although only four matches sit between now and the 7 September final, organisers have spent weeks planning for crowd management. Separate seating areas for Afghan and Pakistani followers – first trialled during last year’s bilateral – will again be in place, and additional security staff have been briefed to intervene early if tempers fray.
The precautions stem from the 2022 flashpoint, a dramatic one-wicket Pakistan win that ended with plastic chairs hurled across the main stand. The PCB later wrote to the ICC, and then chairman Ramiz Raja described the disturbances as “hooliganism”. Several Afghan fans were briefly held by local police, though no formal arrests followed.
Political relations between the neighbouring countries have cooled further since that night, so Sharjah officials know they cannot simply rely on the usual friendly festival atmosphere that often marks expat cricket in the Gulf. The emirate is home to large Afghan and Pakistani communities; tickets for Friday sold out within hours.
On the field the series feels genuinely open. Rashid argued that the sprint-format plus the round-robin schedule make it risky to tag anyone as favourites. “No team is favourite, especially in T20Is. You have to play good cricket,” he said. “One or two players can totally change the game.”
Pakistan, under new white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, face back-to-back matches: Afghanistan on Friday and hosts UAE on Saturday. That could favour Afghanistan, who have a day’s rest before meeting the UAE on Sunday, though Pakistani quick Haris Rauf shrugged off the timetable in a short media chat, saying simply, “We’re ready; it’s part of our job.”
Spin is likely to dominate on Sharjah’s slow surface, yet power hitters such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Saim Ayub and Muhammad Waseem can shift momentum quickly. Former UAE captain Ahmed Raza, working as a television pundit this week, noted, “Early wickets matter here, but if sides keep six or seven wickets in hand they can still post 170.”
Beyond points and net run-rates, the series offers all three teams a timely tune-up before the T20 World Cup qualifiers later in the year. For Afghanistan and Pakistan, though, the first task is keeping attention on the cricket rather than the stands. As Rashid reminded everyone, “It’s just a game of cricket.”
