KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi, a popular franchise of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), on Monday named Arab News Pakistan as its media partner for the tournament’s fifth edition, the owner of the cricket team said.
Pakistan’s inaugural national cricket league, launched in 2016, has been an unexpected success, even though many of the matches have been played in the United Arab Emirates due to security risks. This is the first year all matches of the series will be played in Pakistan.
“Our partnership with Arab News Pakistan is a great thing and we will continue to extend cooperation to each other for the promotion of cricket in the future,” Javed Afridi, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi, said.
“Coverage by Arab News will further boost the excitement of fans. We are really excited to have this international media partnership with Arab News Pakistan, which is one of the credible news sources for the readers across the globe,” Afridi added.
The South Asian nation had largely been starved of international cricket since the 2009 attack on a bus ferrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore which killed eight Pakistanis as well as wounding six players and a British coach. The incident forced Pakistan to play home matches in the United Arab Emirates and led foreign players to refuse to play on Pakistani soil.
But the unprecedented popularity of PSL, which brought 40 foreign players to the country last year, is seen as pivotal in changing the global cricket community’s opinion of Pakistan’s ability to host international matches.
Over 80 million people, roughly 70 percent of Pakistan’s TV-viewing public, tuned in to watch the final game of the series last year.
Speaking about the partnership deal, Baker Atyani, South and East Asia Bureau Chief of Arab News, said Peshawar Zalmi was one of the leading teams of the league, which had won the title once and played final matches in two of the last four seasons.
“We are happy to have partnered with Peshawar Zalmi and hope that the franchise will win the final of the fifth edition,” Atyani said, adding that PSL had played a “great role” in promoting cricket in Pakistan.
“We wish Peshawar Zalmi best of luck for the upcoming tournament, and PSL supporters a very exciting and a successful season,” he continued.
Peshawar Zalmi is one of six teams that play in the series. It represents Peshawar, the capital of the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The other teams come from Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta and Multan.
Arab News Pakistan, an edition of Arab News, was launched in February 2018.
