Why this Af-Pak battle has all of Sharjah on the edge

Afghanistan’s captain Hamid Hassan and vice-captain Mohammad Nabi are confident of giving their opponents a run for the money on what they call their “home” ground. Afghanistan have played two 50-over games previously in Sharjah,both against Canada,winning the first game before going down narrowly in the second.

The only time the two neighbours,divided by the contentious Durand Line,have faced each other before in a cricket match at the world stage was during the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November last year. The Afghans had beaten a second-string Pakistani outfit then before ending up with a silver medal.

Incidentally,with no cricket team of their own,thousands of Afghans who live and work in the UAE have been avid supporters of Pakistan in matches played at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. “Shahid Afridi used to be their favourite,” chuckles Khan.

Having learnt most of his cricket while residing in Peshawar,fast bowler Hassan,one of the key men for the Afghan team,says the entire country is counting down to the big day. Nabi says they have heard that the match tickets have been sold out for a month.

“Playing against Pakistan has always been a dream… We grew up admiring and learning our cricket from them,” the 23-year-old all-rounder adds.

Having come together as a team just three years ago,Nabi & Co have won ODI status for their country,participated in the World T20 in 2010 and are currently ninth in the ICC rankings for Twenty20 cricket. Afghanistan will soon have international stadiums in Kabul and Jalalabad.

Hassan can see the change in how the outsiders perceive them. “Earlier,the questions always used to be directed towards the war back home. These days it’s more about who is in form and who has been taking wickets.”