T20 World Cup 2021 | Thousands of ticketless fans attempt forced entry to Pakistan-Afghanistan clash

10/30/2021

The Super 12 fixture between Pakistan and Afghanistan in T20 World Cup 2021 on Friday was marred by crowd trouble as thousands of ticketless fans attempted forced entry into the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The ICC have now asked the Emirates Cricket Board(ECB) to investigate the matter.

Pakistan won the fixture against Afghanistan by five wickets at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. The Babar Azam-led side registered their third successive victory at the T20 World Cup 2021. However, the match was marred by crowd trouble as thousands of fans attempted forced entry into the stadium without tickets. A similar incident occurred in the 2019 ODI World Cup when Pakistan and Afghanistan locked horns in England. Ahead of Friday's clash between the two teams, Rashid Khan had appealed to fans to remain cool and calm and just focus on enjoying the game, and not to repeat the same mistake.

A statement released by ICC said that they had asked the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) to undertake a thorough investigation regarding the incident.

"Dubai Police and security staff secured the stadium to ensure the safety of everyone inside and brought in significant additional resources to disperse the crowd and calm the situation. At approximately 7pm, Dubai Police directed that all gates should remain closed and no further entry was permitted to maintain a safe and controlled environment inside the venue,” the statement read.

"The ICC has asked the ECB to undertake a thorough investigation into tonight's events to learn any lessons and will work closely with authorities to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in the future,” it further added.

Fans have been allowed 70 to 80 percent of the capacity depending on the restrictions in that region. After the match, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi also requested the fans to not repeat the incident.

"For the Afghan fans, please buy a ticket and come to the stadium. Don't repeat again. This is not good,” he stated.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are pooled in Group 2 alongside India, New Zealand, Namibia, and Scotland.