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Afghanistan braced for more ‘passionate’ rivalry with Pakistan

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Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said Sunday that his team are looking forward to renewing a “passionate” rivalry with Pakistan which has often reflected the stormy political relationship between the two neighbors.

Both sides are in desperate need of a win at the World Cup.

Pakistan have lost their last two games after a pair of opening wins while Afghanistan pulled off a shock victory over defending champions England but have also slumped to three defeats, AFP reported.

At the 2019 World Cup match in Leeds, which Pakistan won by three wickets, riots between the two sets of fans erupted outside the stadium.

Afghanistan fast bowler Fareed Malik and Pakistan batsman Asif Ali almost came to blows in a Twenty20 game at Sharjah last year.

“I think for them (Afghanistan players) it’s a rivalry that excites them,” said Trott on Sunday.

“I think it’s a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate.

“We’ve had very close games as well. Hopefully tomorrow isn’t very exciting and we win by a lot. It’s just the nature of the rivalry, I should say.”

He added: “Both teams, I think, respect each other, but are very desperate to win.”

Trott said he wasn’t aware that Pakistan had unsuccessfully demanded the International Cricket Council switch Sunday’s game to another venue.

Reports claimed that Pakistan was keen to dent the threat posed by Afghanistan’s world-class spin attack.

“I didn’t know about them wanting to (change the venue), but I think Pakistan have got good spinners themselves and the thing with spinners, there are only two or three of them playing a game,” said Trott.

Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi will pose a threat for Pakistan as they did against England, sharing eight wickets in an upset 69-run win.

That game, however, took place in New Delhi.

“It’s everybody’s job, not just the spinners, to win games. There’s batsmen who’ve got to put runs on the board or batsmen who’ve got to chase down a total,” added former England batsman Trott.

“Chennai is normally a good wicket. So, with regards to the mindset, it’s important, as I said, the mindset we have there is that it’s a team game. It’s not just a spinner’s game.”

Afghanistan have lost all seven ODIs against Pakistan but can take a degree of satisfaction from knowing that they clinched three of the teams’ last four Twenty20 meetings.

“We always look to put the opposition under pressure straight away so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow obviously, and I don’t think there’s any thoughts with regards to previous matches,” said Trott.

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Afghanistan, Uzbekistan set for friendly cricket clash in Khost

The match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.

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The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced that it will host Uzbekistan’s national cricket team for a one-off T20 international on July 10 at the Rahmat Wali Masroori Cricket Ground in Khost province.

According to the ACB, the match will be played during a cricket league, and is part of the Cricket Development Support Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ACB and the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan in December last year.

The friendly match is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM, with an Afghan XI taking on the visiting Uzbek side. The game will be broadcast live across Afghanistan and internationally through various linear and digital platforms.

Quoted by the ACB, Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said the board remains committed to supporting emerging cricket nations such as Uzbekistan and is ready to extend similar assistance to other countries seeking to develop the sport.

He noted that the ACB has already organized capacity-building programs and training workshops for members of the Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan, while several Uzbek fast bowlers also participated in the ACB’s specialized Fast Bowling Camp last year.

Khan added that Uzbekistan has consistently maintained a friendly policy toward Afghanistan and that the two countries have strengthened cooperation in healthcare, politics, and trade in recent years. He said closer collaboration in cricket development would further deepen relations between the two neighboring nations.

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Serbian Dejan Dedovic appointed head coach of Afghanistan national futsal team

Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.

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The Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) has appointed Serbian coach Dejan Dedovic as the new head coach of the national futsal team on a two-year contract.

The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by AFF officials, futsal committee members, technical staff, and sports journalists.

Dedovic will lead Afghanistan’s preparations for upcoming regional and international competitions, overseeing the team’s technical development and training programs.

The federation also announced several additions to the national team’s coaching staff. Iran’s Javad Asghari Moqaddam has been appointed technical director, while Morteza Mansour Samaei will serve as goalkeeping coach. Spain’s Uriel Masana has joined as assistant coach, Iran’s Sadeq Amani as fitness coach, and Brazil’s Joao Lira as team analyst.

In addition, the AFF renewed the contract of Mohammad Nasir Sedaqat as manager of the national futsal team.

The federation said it expects the newly assembled coaching staff to contribute to the continued development of Afghan futsal and strengthen the team’s competitiveness at the regional and international levels.

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India clinch ODI series against Afghanistan

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The India national cricket team defeated Afghanistan in the third and final One Day International (ODI), sealing the series with a 9-wicket victory and lifting the series trophy.

Afghanistan won the toss in the final match and opted to bat first.

Batting first, Afghanistan were bowled out for 218 in 44.2 overs, setting India a target of 219 runs.

Hashmatullah Shahidi played a superb innings, scoring 102 runs off 131 deliveries, anchoring the Afghan batting effort.

In reply, India made light work of the chase, reaching 219 for the loss of just one wicket in 28.4 overs, completing a dominant run chase.

India had already taken an unassailable lead in the series by winning the first ODI by 7 wickets and the second by 170 runs, before sealing a comprehensive 3–0 series sweep in the final match.

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