ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki on Sunday announced that the Pakistan cricket team would be invited as royal guests for Hajj 2025 if they win the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan’s national cricket squad arrived in Dallas on Saturday night to take part in the T20 World Cup 2024. Skipper Babar Azam’s side will open their World Cup campaign on June 6 against the United States.
The 2009 world champions will face India, Ireland and Canada in subsequent Group A matches of the World Cup. The cricket megaevent is being co-hosted by the United States and West Indies from June 2-29 and features 20 teams in total.
In a video message shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Malki wished the Pakistan team luck as the tournament kicked off on June 2.
“Next year when they win the World Cup, god willing, they [Pakistan cricket team] will be the royal guests for Hajj,” Malki said. “I pray for Pakistan and its success and prosperity.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have sought to strengthen their ties in cricket in recent years as the sport grows increasingly popular in the Kingdom.
The PCB said in January 2023 it was ready to share sports expertise with the Gulf nation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2003 and in 2016, was promoted to associate membership.
But the game saw a real boom in the last couple of years, after the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation was established in 2020, and has since lined up a series of programs to promote the sport at home and prepare national teams to compete with the world’s best in the future.