JEDDAH — Pakistan's cricket all-rounder Shahid Afridi, former captain, visited the Hala Cricket Academy (HCA) here and was shown around the facility by Samir Nidal Khan, executive director Jeddah Cricket Association (JCA), on Thursday. Afridi, who was in the Kingdom to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah last week, also unveiled the MCA Saudi Premier League Cup trophy at a ceremony in Madinah last Saturday. The event is being organized by Madinah Cricket Association (MCA). The SPL Cup tournament is being held in association with Jeddah Cricket Association (JCA). My Care and Hala are the sponsors of the tournament. Among the supporters are: RCL, MPCL and JPCL. During the Hala Cricket Academy visit, a large number of cricket fans, JCA officials, including Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry CEO, Aijaz Ahmed Khan, president, Hamid Rana, vice president, JCA Saudi Premier League (SPL) T20 prime mover Haroon Abdullah Bin Mahfouz, representatives of sponsors for the second edition of Saudi Premier League (SPL) T20, 2016, and selected JCA players for a tour abroad, welcomed the legendary cricketer at the academy. During his brief stay at the academy the charismatic Afridi expressed his happiness at seeing such a large crowd and thanked all of them for their love and warm reception. Samir Nidal Khan, who hosted Afridi, said that we are very fortunate to have persons like Shahid Afridi, who is a craze among young cricketers of Saudi Arabia, who take time off to visit us. "His presence and advices to budding cricketers will inspire and motivate the cream of players here, who could turn out to be an asset for the national teams of their countries," he added. Mohammed Iqbal and Aijaz Khan also praised renowned cricketer Afridi for visiting the academy, and inspiring young cricketers with words of encouragement.
