Cricket for peace: UK Media XI to play in North Waziristan on Sep 21
September 20, 2017
KARACHI: A cricket match will be played between Pakistan XI and UK Media XI in Miranshah, a town in the North Waziristan Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas on September 21.
The match will be held at the picturesque Younis Khan Stadium in Miranshah.
The series, titled Peace Cup, has been organised by Pakistan Army, Pakistan Cricket Board and Peshawar Zalmi.
“Prominent players include Inzamam ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Junaid Khan, Umer Gul, Mushtaq Ahmed, Riaz Afridi and Wajhatullah Wasti,” according to the Peshawar Zalmi press release.
On the other hand, the UK team is part of an 18-member group of journalists, lawyers, businessmen and academics aged between 21-62, which is touring Pakistan with the aim to improve the country's image as a sporting nation.
Of the 18 members of the squad, 14 are players, one is an umpire while the rest, including two women, are the organisers.
DG ISPR announces Peace Cup match
Major General Asif Ghafoor, the Director General of ISPR, tweeted on Wednesday to announce the Peace Cup match.
“Cricket in NWA. Pak XI plays UK Media XI on 21 Sep 17. Live telecast from Miranshah. Peace & prosperity is our destiny,” the DG ISPR tweeted.
An official of ISPR confirmed that a match between Pakistan XI and UK Media XI will be played tomorrow at the Younis Khan stadium.
“On Special instructions of COAS as a Gift to brave Pakistanis of FATA, a T20 Cricket match (Peace Cup 2017) is being played between Pakistan XI and UK Media team XI tomorrow at Miranshah,” he said.
The DG ISPR, in an interaction with sports journalists in Lahore on sidelines of Pakistan vs World XI games, had aimed to organise a cricket match in FATA.
Promotion of sports
Speaking about the event, Peshawar Zalmi Chairman Javed Afridi said "Zalmi is playing its part for the promotion of sports in the region and will keep doing so in the future," according to the Peshawar Zalmi media department.
The Younis Khan stadium, named after former Pakistan captain Younis Khan, was inaugurated earlier this year to provide sporting opportunities to the cricketers from the tribal areas.
