KARACHI: Javed Afridi, the owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi, said on Thursday the leading PSL team will visit Saudi Arabia and play with the Kingdom’s national side, following his meeting with Saudi Cricket Federation Chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal in Riyadh.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia share diverse bilateral economic, defense and sports ties. This month, Pakistan women’s football team participated in a four-nation international tournament in the Kingdom, where the Pakistani side finished runners-up.
Afridi told Arab News he discussed with Prince Saud the possibility of a contest between Peshawar Zalmi and the Saudi national cricket team.
“In future, Zalmi team will visit and play with the Saudi team,” he said.
In October 2022, the Kingdom launched the inaugural Saudi National Games under the Vision 2030 program, which aimed to provide a platform for athletes to excel to their best potential, inspire youth through sports, and demonstrate the Kingdom’s capabilities globally in hosting the largest events. More than 6,000 athletes competed in 45 sports, including 5 games dedicated to Paralympic sports.
Saudi Arabia is also home to more than 2 million Pakistanis — a majority of whom come from Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which Peshawar is the capital of — and is one of the single largest sources of foreign remittances to Pakistan.
Afridi also invited the Saudi cricket federation chairman to watch PSL matches in Pakistan.
“In the meeting, mutual interest, especially Pakistan-Saudi cricket relations, was discussed,” Peshawar Zalmi said in a statement.
“Javed Afridi assured Prince Saud bin Mishal of Peshawar Zalmi’s all-possible support for the promotion of cricket in Saudi Arabia.”
