Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has issued a heartfelt appeal to fans of his country and Pakistan not to resort to violence and let emotions get the better of them ahead of their match on Friday.
A major scuffle had broken out the last time Afghanistan and Pakistan competed against each other in a World Cup encounter.
During the first innings of their clash at the 2019 World Cup, a plane was seen flying overhead with the banner “Justice For Balochistan” which triggered a fight outside Headingley, Leeds.
This led to several of the fans being evicted from the stadium. Rashid Khan is hoping to avoid a repeat of the incident when the two sides meet later tonight (October 29).
While speaking to PTI, Rashid said:
“After the 2019 World Cup match, whatever happened shouldn’t have happened. But this is the kind of request to all the fans, whatever there is that comes at the end, at the end of the day this game gives lots of unity to the nations and brings them together, not to have those kinds of accidents.
“I think it’s a request to all the fans to stay cool and calm and just enjoy the game. This game is all about enjoyment.”
Both sides are yet to be defeated so far in this tournament. It is to be noted that this marks Afghanistan’s first major test in the competition, while Pakistan have emerged victorious over the strongest suitors (India and New Zealand) in the group.
Definitely it’s always a good game against Pakistan: Rashid Khan
Rashid claimed that playing against Pakistan has always been a good prospect with their recent meetings being a tight affair.
Pakistan were made to work hard to secure a three-wicket win over their neighbors in the 2019 World Cup as well as the 2018 Asia Cup. The 23-year-old added:
“Definitely it’s always a good game against Pakistan, even when we played in the 2018 in Asia (Cup). And also in terms of the 2019 World Cup. But this game should remain as a game.
“The more we just focus on the enjoyment, and as we have seen in this game, things happen, accidents happen.So I hope they remain cool and calm and just focus on enjoying the game and who plays better on the day that team wins.”
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Afghanistan were slated to play a three-match ODI series against the Men In Green prior to the T20 World Cup, but even after shifting venues to Sri Lanka, the series could not be played.
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