Dubai: Entailing high hopes to watch good cricket, adorable Afghan kids received Pakistan Cricket Team with flowers in their hands and smiles on their faces. Yesterday evening, the 15-member Pakistan national squad flew from Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport to Dubai, where they received a warm welcome.

A three-match series between the two neighboring countries will start on Friday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan was scheduled to play Australia in an ODI series to open their campaign this month, but Cricket Australia declined to play because of political issues. Pakistan then consented to a brief three-match series. In place of Babar Azam, the team's regular captain, and several more seasoned players, all-rounder Shadab Khan will lead a young and revamped Pakistan squad.

PCB has decided to rest senior players like Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi to manage their workloads better.

Both teams have competed against each other in multi-nation events, and some of those games have resulted in major crowd disturbances and player fights, in what has evolved into a fierce rivalry.

Published in The Daily National Courier, March, 24 2023

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