Rashid Khan pleads for calm when Afghanistan and Pakistan play in Sharjah for first time since crowd unrest

Leg-spinner asks for support for his side but respect for opposition from spectators who attend a tri-series also involving the UAE national team

Pakistan's Asif Ali and Afghanistan's Fareed Ahmad square up during the game between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Rashid Khan has asked for “unity” among supporters when Afghanistan play Pakistan in the opening game of the tri-nations series in Sharjah on Friday night.

The game is the first of seven T20 internationals to be played between the two sides, plus the hosts UAE, as preparation for the Asia Cup.

The last time Afghanistan and Pakistan met at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in the 2022 Asia Cup, crowd unrest broke out in the stands after the game.

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Amid the fighting, seats were ripped out and hurled at opposing fans, in an incident the then Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja termed “hooliganism”.

Over the course of the next month, the UAE will play host to a number of fixtures which come with a backdrop of political tension.

India and Pakistan are drawn in the same group in the first round of the Asia Cup, and could even play each other three times at the Dubai International Stadium in that event.

Pakistan and Afghanistan could meet three times in Sharjah, if they each reach the final of the tri-series. They are drawn in separate groups in the Asia Cup, but could potentially face each other in the second round.

Special security measures will be in place for the games in Sharjah, including potentially segregating supporters.

Rashid, the Afghanistan captain, has pleaded with spectators to support their sides, but respect their opposition also.

“It is a message to everyone who ever comes to watch the game in the stadium,” Rashid said.

Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz takes the wicket of Afghanistan's Karim Janat caught by Fakhar Zaman during the game between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“This game is something that brings unity, in brings people together, and brings nations together. It shows the right message, a message of peace.

“Everyone coming to the ground should support their team, support the players, and have fun. This game is all about enjoyment.

“We play this game to enjoy it and give entertainment to the crowd. I feel like it is just a game. There is nothing bigger to it.

“For the crowd to come and support their teams, and the respective players, that is what I request of them, and make sure they have fun and enjoy every moment of the game.”

Salman Agha, Pakistan’s captain, says the tri-series will be ideal preparation for the bigger challenges to follow in Dubai next month.

The 31-year-old batter replaced Mohammed Rizwan as Pakistan’s T20I captain earlier this year, and will lead a new-look side in the UAE, shorn of stars like Rizwan and Babar Azam.

“It is going to be exciting, but great for our preparation as well,” he said of the Sharjah series, which includes two matches apiece against UAE and the Afghans, followed by a final. “I know it is going to be challenging, but we are ready for that.”

The UAE have the lowest expectations on them among the three teams, but Muhammad Waseem, the captain, is confident they can make a mark in the tri-series.

The national team have claimed scalps of teams like New Zealand and Afghanistan themselves in recent times, and also beat Bangladesh in a T20I series in Sharjah.

The idea that they have home advantage for the series is debatable: Pakistan and Afghanistan have each played home fixtures in the UAE in recent years.

But Waseem is quietly confident. “It is home for all three teams, but the way we have prepared, the way we have played for the past couple of years, and the work we have done over the past one and a half months, I think we are going to play good cricket over here,” Waseem said.