Two of the fast growing rivals in the cricketing world, Afghanistan and Pakistan are all set to meet in a T20I bilateral series, the first ever of its kind. The love for cricket and the political landscapes in both countries have always contributed to the ingredients for heated and entertaining contest between the two nations.

Both teams have previously gone head to head in the ICC and ACC events but not in a bilateral series. This series come as a replacement for the 3 ODIs the two teams were supposed to play as part of the ICC FTP. The three T20I are scheduled to be played at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.

Afghanistan’s star performer Rashid Khan will be leading his troops. The hosts have never beat Pakistan in an international game but having made some notable changes, his 17-members squad has it all to go over the line and make history by defeating the opposition for the first time in their cricketing history.

Usman Ghani and under 19 star Sediq Atal have replaced the aggressive opener Hazratullah Zazai along with one of their most reliable middle order batters Rahmat Shah. Zazai was out of touch in his recent international appearances and didn’t live up to the expectations in franchise cricket recently. Afghanistan’s most experienced player Mohammad Nabi also makes a comeback in the squad. Nabi resigned from captaincy following his teams average performance in the T20 World Cup 2022.

Pakistan too have rested some of their most experienced crew including the skipper Barbar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman as well as the fast bowling duo Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi. It’s just a matter of time to find out whether they will miss the spearhead pacer who just led Lahore Qalanders to the first ever consecutive titles in PSL, and the likes of Babar and Rizwan at the top of the order.

Shadab has been a consistent performer in Pakistan’s recent successes, just like his rival Rashid, he is too given the responsibility to lead his country on this historic occasion. Having just complete their domestic t20 competition, the Pakistan’s young star studded team is probably the least experience of the two but is not short of any talent.

There has already been some pre-series controversy following the PCB Chairman’s remarks at squad announcement press conference.

“We told Afghanistan board to control their players. We have experiences with regards to winning and losing so can control our emotions, but they are new to international cricket, so they need to keep their players in check” said Najam Sethi.

Former Afghanistan skipper and current Assistant Coach Rais Ahmadzai responded “Both Afghanistan and  Pakistan are playing under ICC code of conduct, Najam Seth Simple give respect take respect, let’s enjoy the best show of cricket in Sharjah” pointing out the initiation of the on field arguments between the two team during Asia Cup where Pakistan’s Asif Ali raised his bat to Farid Malik which fuelled the post match fans brawl.

Emotions are always high both on and off the field during Afghanistan vs Pakistan. The organisers have considered fans segregation, keeping the fans in separate stands to avoid unrest among the fans and provide a friendly environment for those attending. Despite its ins and outs, both teams have always displayed some exceptional performances and this time will not be any different.

When World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 virus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th of January, almost every country went into lockdown. Schools and offices were closed. Events were postponed. Entertainment industry was shutdown. In the midst of this pandemic, countries around the globe rushed to reroute their national effort and resources towards building and strengthening their healthcare infrastructure.

Unfortunately, some countries were fighting a more nerve-wracking threat than a highly contagious virus – poverty. Afghanistan has been suffering from a 4-decade long war. It has obliterated not just the prospect of peace but also its public welfare system, leaving millions of people desperately trying to survive. Thus, our committee at Afghan Cricket Foundation (ACF) decided to utilise our resources and initiate our COVID-19 Relief Campaign to assuage their suffering through providing food parcels and essential hygiene products.

Covid-19 Relief Campaign
We partnered with Afghan Cricket Association (ACA) and swiftly designed a simple but effective online fundraising campaign as a joint effort to support and alleviate the suffering of the less fortunate. The aim was to distribute food parcels (see image 1) across two different cities in Afghanistan, Kabul and Kunduz. Each package was formulated to ensure it sufficed for a whole family for an entire month.

After launching this altruistic campaign, we were moved by the generosity and support we received. Our initial modest donation target was met within a few hours. So, we decided to increase our target to £5,000 in order to help more families. We partnered with trustworthy and transparent organisations in Afghanistan to create high quality food parcels for the cheapest price possible. Thanks to our hardworking team in Afghanistan, our final packages had more items, and were cheaper than we advertised therefore allowing us to reach more families.

After two weeks there was still palpable demand for keeping the fundraising page active, and we did. As a result, we managed to raise a grand total of £6208, and provided 124 food parcels across not two but three cities. This was a phenomenal achievement considering this was our first ever charitable campaign. We would like to thank every individual across the globe for donating and promoting our campaign. It wouldn’t have been possible without their effort and generosity.

If you would like to see the impact of this campaign, and the difference it has made then please head over to our social media pages:
Twitter: @ACF_World
Instagram: ACF_World

Special Thanks from our CEO
I would like to extend special thanks to each ACA team member for their contribution towards this project under the wing of the foundation. Other volunteers, you know who you are, both officially and unofficially helping to spread the word. They worked hard during this lockdown to deliver massive help in a part of the world that arguably needed it the most. Thanks to all donors who donated every amount small or big; supporters went beyond and shared the campaign with friends and families; also, appreciation of Mr Malik Mangal owner of Mangal Money Transfer for showing massive support in this campaign from being one of the largest contributors to providing other support.