Former fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar expressed his wish of driving to Srinagar like he drives to Muzaffarabad and Azad Kashmir to deliver the message of peace.

“I want to give the message that we do not want war and blood, we want to play [sports],” said Kashmir Premier League’s (KPL) peace ambassador Akhtar while addressing the opening ceremony of the inaugural edition of the league.

Rawalpindi Express stated that the people of Kashmir richly deserved this kind of sports festival and this 20-over league is rightfully delivering that.

Akhtar went on to praise KPL Director of Cricket Operations Taimoor Khan and said that he deserved a round of applause for what he has managed to achieve. He mentioned that Khan himself made sure that every inch of this stadium was ready to host such a global-level event.

The former fast bowler expressed gratitude towards the authorities who offered him the role of KPL’s peace ambassador.

“I could have never let this opportunity of being the peace ambassador [of KPL] go,” he stated.