KARACHI: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has suggested organising a three-match series between the champions of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) second edition Peshawar Zalmi and Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at a neutral venue, according to Zalmi’s CEO Javed Afridi.
Knight Riders’ co-owner Shah Rukh, whose team has won the IPL title twice, congratulated Zalmi owner Afridi and suggested a three-match series at a neutral venue. The venue of the match will be decided once the governments of both countries give their go-ahead for the proposed series. While confirming Shah Rukh’s offer, Afridi revealed both team owners will talk to their respective governments regarding the series.
“Shah Rukh has asked me to talk to the Pakistani government and he will talk to the Indian government himself,” he said.
He also confirmed that he has received congratulatory messages from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Bollywood actors Sanjay Kapoor and Gulshan Grover.
Knight Riders won’t be playing
any games against Peshawar Zalmi
Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday rejected reports that the Bollywood superstar offered to hold a three-match series with Pakistan Super League champions Peshawar Zalmi.
“KKR won’t be playing any unauthorised games/leagues as some false reports are claiming. No such communication happened from our end,” the franchise said on Twitter.
The refutation came hours after Zalmi CEO Javed Afridi claimed SRK, who is the co-owner of KKR, called him to congratulate over his team’s victory and suggested a three-match series at a neutral venue.
However, hours after his statement, Afridi backtracked and said “there is no truth” in the reports and they are mere ‘speculations’.
Earlier, President Ghani invited the Zalmi team to Kabul, which was accepted by the franchise, and they will be traveling to Afghanistan’s capital in the summer this year with all the big names including Shahid Afridi. Zalmi’s CEO further added that his franchise is trying to bring peace in the region, and is hoping that the visit to Kabul and a series against KKR can prove to be a major step towards achieving the goal. “The Kabul visit can play a role to bring peace between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added. “And if the series against KKR materialises, I am sure it can help in improving relations between two countries as well.” – MD
