Pakistan Super League franchise, Peshawar Zalmi, will be the first team to play a friendly match with the Saudi national cricket team.
Players of Peshawar Zalmi have expressed excitement to be the first team from Pakistan to play against Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, Javed Afridi had challenged the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation to play a match against Peshawar Zalmi. The Saudi Federation had accepted the challenge. The date of the match has not been announced as of yet.
Peshawar Zalmi is one of the strongest teams of PSL, had won the tournament once and ended runner-up twice.
BEST WISHES TO CRICKET KSA. HOW ABOUT PESHAWAR ZALMI VS KSA IN SAUDI ? https://t.co/13FCl6As10
— جاوید آفریدی (@JAfridi10) April 4, 2021
“This will be the first team of Pakistan to go and play in Saudi Arabia,” said wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal while talking to Arab News. He believes that internationally-renowned cricketers like “Wahab Riaz and international players like Saqib (English bowler) will go there and their young players will get good experience.”
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“BEST WISHES TO CRICKET KSA. HOW ABOUT PESHAWAR ZALMI VS KSA IN SAUDI ?” said Javed Afridi in a tweet earlier this April.
Responding to his challenge, the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation told: “We thank Afridi for the wonderful gesture, good wishes to the Saudi national cricket team, and appreciation. We look forward to a lot of cooperation with all great cricket-playing countries, such as Pakistan.
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“As far as an invitation to play a friendly game is concerned, we accept the challenge and look forward to playing the game at a mutually agreed date and place, here in Saudi Arabia,” said Nadeem Nadwi, General Manager, SACF while talking to Arab News.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is ready to make a passionate entry in the field of cricket with massive plans for the introduction of the game in the country.
From national cricket leagues to corporate tournaments, series of game-changing plans for cricket has been outlined that will increase participation at the community club and international level.