Peshawar Zalmi pick three Turkish cricketers as 'special guests' for PSL

Waseem Ahmed 21:20 24/11/2018
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  • A Turkish flavour to the PSL franchise. Image courtesy - PZ/Twitter.

    When the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) gets underway in February next year in the UAE, there will be a Turkish flavour to the Peshawar Zalmi squad.

    The Peshawar franchise has invited three budding cricketers from Turkey as ‘special guests’ for what will be the fourth edition of the PSL.

    Female player Yagmur Tasdelen is among the Turkish contingent which also includes Tunahan Turan and Mehmet Sert.

    “Three Turkish players will fly with the team to Dubai and witness all the cricketing action and learn from the best,” Peshawar Zalmi’s media department said in a statement.

    The Zalmi Foundation recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Turkish Developing Sports Branches Federation to promote the sport of cricket in the country and the move to rope in the three players as guests for the PSL edition is a step in that direction.

    “This is the beginning of our relations in cricket. I want to see Turkey in international cricket and we will provide all possible support to Turkish players and their team,” team owner Javed Afridi had said at the time of signing the MoU.

    “We will also support Turkey to get full membership of International Cricket Council (ICC),” he added.

    This is not the first time that Peshawar Zalmi have given a chance to budding players from non-cricketing nations. In the last edition of the PSL, they had roped in a couple of Chinese players as special guests to help promote the game in the country.

    20-year-old Turan and 24-year-old Tasdelen both expressed their delight at being given the opportunity by the PSL franchise.

    “I am very happy and feel proud to become part of Peshawar Zalmi, which is one of the best T20 teams in Pakistan,” 20-year-old Turan was quoted as saying by the Anadolu Agency.

    “I want to show the world that Turkish girls can play cricket which is mostly considered as a men’s sport,” Tasdelen said on her part.

    The thee Turkish cricketers were also present at the player draft for the PSL which was held in Islamabad recently.

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