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.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have a range of bilateral military, commercial, and sporting relations. The Pakistani women’s football team took part in a four-nation international competition this month in the Kingdom, where they finished in second place.
According to Afridi, he and Prince Saud talked about the possibility of Peshawar Zalmi and the Saudi cricket team playing one another.
“In future, Zalmi team will visit and play with the Saudi team,” he said.
The Kingdom launched the first Saudi National Games in October 2022 as part of the Vision 2030 initiative, with the goal of giving athletes a platform to reach their full potential, inspiring young people through sports, and showcasing the Kingdom’s capacity to host the biggest events globally. In 45 different sports, including 5 games specifically for Paralympic sports, more than 6,000 competitors competed.
More than 2 million Pakistanis reside in Saudi Arabia, the bulk of them from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, whose capital is Peshawar. Saudi Arabia is also one of the biggest providers of international remittances to Pakistan.
The head of the Saudi cricket association was also invited by Afridi to watch PSL games 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.”
