Kashmir Premier League: Some Matches Are Likely To Be Played In England

KPL President Arif Malik says they are planning to hold three matches in England to pay tribute to Shahid Afridi for his contribution to the cricket.

BIRMINGHAM: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 23rd, 2022) The semi-finals and final of Kashmir Premier League (KPL) are likely to be played in England as the organizers are holding talks in this regard.

Talking to a local private tv, KPL President Arif Malik and CEO Chaudhry Shahzad Akhtar shared the plans of three matches in England following a road-show event to promote KPL held at the Consulate of Pakistan in Birmingham.

According to other KPL officials, the league was planning to hold an exhibition match in May at a major cricket venue in England to pay tribute to star cricketer Shahid Afridi.

The KPL President said, “Shahid Afridi is a trend setter and he is the player who made major contribution to the game of cricket in and outside the country. We are planning to organizer an exhibition match in England in his honor,”.

He also stated that the matches under planning would likely be played between KPL Stars and England Stars and Afridi would be the captain of one of the teams.

It would be, he said, like presenting a guard of honour to Afridi for his service to the game. He stated that all stars of KPL would be in action in that game. [Two to three] Kashmiri origin players will also play that match and It will be a huge moment for them too to feature along with some great players.

Akhtarsaid that the plans, for his part, were now to make this league a globa event and they were holding discussion to hold the semi-finals and final match of the second season in England for this reason.

Shahzad said, “The reason is that the largest diaspora of Kashmiri origin lives in the UK which is nearly one million now.

So, this will provide an opportunity to them to see the players in action in KPL and also meet them,”.

Akhtar said that it was unfortunate that before KPL, there wasn’t a single organisation in Kashmir that could utilise and polish the local cricketing talent.

He went on to say that KPL was like a bridge for those players who were from Kashmir and want to play in the PSL.

He also said that players like Zaman Khann and Kashif Ali were two such players who had even proven themselves in the PSL—which was now the biggest cricket brand of Pakistan were the product of Kashmir Premier League.

The KPL CEO said the cricketing talent is in abundance in Kashmir which can now use the platform of a global league like KPL.

Akhtar said, “KPL will open the window of opportunity for more players to play and star in international leagues and county cricket around the world. We will also facilitate players from Kashmir to play and learn in England from KPL’s platform,”.

Malik while answering to a question about the issues and challenges faced during the inaugural edition of KPL said that he realized that the league was happening when the first ball was delivered.

The role played by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) was unfortunately very negative and lake sportsmanship, he said, adding that the reaction of BCCI was negative.

“We were only thinking about cricket and there was no politics involved,” said Malik, pointing out that . Broadcast service providers were pressurised not to travel to Kashmir telling them that it was not a safe place and they can face security issues.