DUBAI: Spinner Rashid Khan has appealed to Afghanistan and Pakistan fans to remain calm when the two neighbours meet in the T20 World Cup on Friday after a match in England two years ago was scarred by fighting and a pitch invasion.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Rashid requested the fans to enjoy the match and let it remain a game of cricket. “Definitely it’s always a good game against Pakistan, but this should remain as a game,” the cricketer added.
“I request all the fans to stay cool and calm and just enjoy the game. What happened in the 2019 match should not have happened,” Rashid Khan told Pakistan and Afghanistan fans.
Rashid played in that 50-over World Cup game at a packed Headingley in Leeds in 2019. His side suffered an agonising defeat but the result was overshadowed by violence and scuffles inside and outside the stadium.
Players needed security escorts off the pitch as fans poured out of the terraces. Friday’s game in Dubai could be tense as both teams are undefeated and chasing semi-final places.
However, the Afghanistan team came into the tournament under the threat of a ban due to the ruling Taliban government’s hardline stance on women’s sport.
Afghanistan cricket chief Azizullah Fazli told AFP at the start of the tournament, “Our government is streamlining things and women’s cricket will also be streamlined.”
Rashid said that the squad is trying just to focus on the tournament. “We have only the World Cup in mind, we’re playing five games and we need to win three games,” said the 23-year-old.
“We don’t think about what’s happening. We don’t think about what happened in the past. That is something which is not in our hands, it is not in our control,” he added.
“I think we need to play good cricket. It’s not about getting too many sixes. These grounds are very hard to hit sixes. The wickets are not as good to hit the sixes” the spinner added.
