Afghanistan v Pakistan on Saturday has serious qualification ramifications for the latter, while the former has long been eliminated from playoff contention.

Staring at a possible league stage elimination after three defeats and a washout, Pakistan have staged a remarkable comeback with wins over South Africa and New Zealand to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

A couple of losses for hosts England only brightened the 1992 winners’ prospects of a semifinal berth. The mood among Pakistan fans seems especially upbeat, given the eerie similarities to that World Cup campaign 27 years ago.

There were quite a few positives from the six-wicket victory over New Zealand, with Babar Azam’s century and Shaheen Afridi’s five-wicket haul being the most prominent ones.

Afghanistan, who came close to causing the tournament’s biggest upset against India, have won hearts with their spirited showings, but, truth be told, they would have wanted to do better on the field. A win over a major cricketing nation like Pakistan would be a nice way to exit the big stage, and the likes of Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib would be aware of that.

Political background

Off the field, this match is perhaps the World Cup match that cricket fans in the war-weary nation of Afghanistan will be watching most intensely. It is a complicated relationship. Many Afghanistan players learned the game growing up as refugees in Pakistan but lots of Afghans also accuse their powerful neighbour of supporting Taliban militants.

With years of distrust and blame between the two countries, a high-stakes victory over Pakistan in the sport it loves best on Saturday would taste especially sweet to Afghans.

There is also intrigue on the pitch at Headingley, in the northern English city of Leeds.

Pakistan cannot afford any more slip-ups, needing to win their final two matches to retain a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals after a slow start to the tournament.

Afghanistan, appearing in just their second World Cup since their debut in 2015, are playing for pride after losing all seven of their matches so far.

Afghanistan captain Naib played down the political tensions between the two nations at his pre-match press conference on Friday, saying he hoped cricket could build bridges.

“If you look at our cricket, we learnt a lot of cricket in Pakistan and we also played cricket in Pakistan,” Naib said.

“We are also hoping cricket is one thing that can keep a good relationship for anyone, any other country. So I am hoping that not only with Pakistan, but with India, Sri Lanka and other countries.”

More than just a game

Cricket became popular in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of 1979, with young people learning the sport in refugee camps on the Pakistan border.

All-rounder Mohammad Nabi and leg-spinner Rashid started playing the game in Peshawar.

Two former Pakistan internationals – Kabir Khan and Rashid Latif – have played key roles in the development of Afghanistan as coaches over the past decade.

But the lingering tensions mean that Afghan players are reluctant to draw attention to their association with Pakistan and often show more of an affiliation with Pakistan’s arch rivals, India.

On the pitch, Afghanistan beat their formidable rivals in a pre-World Cup warm-up match, but they have lost all three official one-day internationals between the two sides.

Despite this winning record, Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed warned his players not to take Afghanistan lightly.

“We know they have quality spinners in their team,” said Sarfaraz, referring to Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. “We can’t take them lightly because a team such as Afghanistan can be dangerous.”

“We have staged a comeback with a strong belief that we can win and then our way to the semi-final is paved, but at the moment we have only Saturday’s game on our minds,” he added.

Pakistan’s last match of the round-robin phase is against Bangladesh, which could turn into another virtual quarter-final at Lord’s on July 5 as they target the semi-finals and dream of a second World Cup triumph.

Afghanistan’s sights are set lower but they have a long-term dream.

Naib said he hoped playing at tournaments such as the World Cup would boost the standard of the game in Afghanistan.

“We want more matches to build our cricket so it’s really good for us to play a lot of cricket with them (major nations),” said the Afghan skipper.

Squads:

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Shahdab Khan, Mohammed Hafeez, Mohammed Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammed Aamir, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Asif Ali.

Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (captain), Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Asghar Afghan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Samiullah Shinwari, Rahmat Shah, Noor Ali Zadran, Ikram Alikhil.

Match starts at 3pm IST.

(With AFP & PTI inputs)