On September 7, Wednesday, Pakistan and Afghanistan cricket teams faced each other in the Super Four Stage of Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah. However, Pakistan managed to win the thrilling match that went till the last over, with Naseem Shah hitting two sixes in two balls, snatching victory away from Afghanistan when Pakistan required eleven runs in the last over with only one wicket left. What was distributed during the match was the behaviour of Afghani left arm pacer, Fareed Ahmad Malik, towards Asif Ali. When he got Asif Ali out, he used vulgar language which did not touch not only Asif Ali but all Pakistani fans well and is against the rules of games.
Moreover, what was more perturbing was the behaviour of Afghan fans after the match. They not only misbehaved with the Pakistani crowd but also threw chairs at them and used abusive language. This is not the first time that these Afghan fans have done this. If we delve into the past, we get many such examples of them behaving like this. The pertinent example in this regard is that On June 29, the world cup match between the two countries introduced hooliganism into the cricketing culture. Fans attacked each other both inside and outside the stadium. Social media became a virtual battleground on both sides of Torkham, spouting unbearable hatred and xenophobia. Patriotic Pakistanis were expletively declaring their Afghan counterparts ‘Haramkhor/namakharam’ (Thankless) and ‘Ehsanfaramosh’ (Opportunistic). Afghans, in turn, did not also remain silent.
Sadly, another most pathetic example is that of the 2019 One Day International (ODI) Cricket World Cup in England. On June 29, Saturday, 2019, Pakistan and Afghanistan faced each other in the ODI world Cup in Headingley Stadium. The match went to the last over like that of Sharjah, and Pakistan managed to grab the victory from Afghanistan. But, the behaviour of fans was quite perturbing. They did the same what they did after the match in Sharjah in this Asia Cup. Even, some Afghan fans also jumped into the ground in an apparent attempt to attack the Pakistani players after the match, but security guards did not allow them to do so. They threw chairs at one another, abused one another and did whatever they could do with one another inside and outside the stadium.
In fact, Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a long history of rocky relations and mistrust. Pakistan-Afghanistan matches have turned out to be war-like matches throughout the years. Few players, from both sides, always misbehave with each other in every Afghanistan-Pakistan clash and fans are no less in this regard. But, surprisingly, despite the fact that Pakistan-India matches often attract fans from both countries to watch the matches from the stands, there have never been incidents such as the one witnessed recently during the Pakistan-Afghanistan game. Relations between India and Pakistan have been rockier and both countries have fought four wars against each other. Yet, interestingly, their matches at international cricket events have never witnessed any clashes between fans of the two cricket-crazy countries. What led Afghan-Pakistan fans to fight with each other?
Furthermore, the thing that leads the fans from both sides to clash with each other is, perhaps, politics. There’s an often repeated statement: “Politics should never be mixed with sports.” Ideally, this should be the case, but the fact is that sports and politics do mix and there’s nothing one can do about it. Sports are played by men and women, many of whom are as much affected by their respective countries’ politics as their fans and/or countrymen and women. So, despite the many rules enacted by international sporting bodies to discourage this mix, politics often manage to play a visible role in how a sportsperson or their fans end up behaving on and off the field.
This behaviour among fans is totally unacceptable. This behaviour is leading both nations towards worst relationships and politics is ruining the enjoyment of the game. Cricket is considered to be a gentlemen’s game. Cricket is a game of emotions and nerves and it unites people from both sides. But, here, it is contrary among fans of Pakistan and Afghanistan. After every Afghanistan-Pakistan match, there is a fight among crowds from both sides. Cricket should unite us but not make us enemies of each other, which always has dire consequences for both sides.
