Pakistani cricketers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, have embarked on a spiritual journey to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj.

The news of their arrival in the holy land has spread like wildfire on social media, with a picture capturing the duo in front of Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in the city of Medina.

Babar is accompanied by his mother during this sacred pilgrimage. Meanwhile, Rizwan is joined by both his mother and wife.

Prioritizing their religious obligations, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had granted special permission to Babar and Rizwan, exempting them from attending the ongoing training camp in Lahore. They will later rejoin the team in Karachi in the first week of July to prepare for the upcoming Test tour against Sri Lanka.

This year, a substantial number of Pakistani pilgrims, including Babar and Rizwan, are expected to partake in the Hajj pilgrimage. In March, the Minister for Religious Affairs, Mufti Abdul Shakoor, announced that a total of 179,210 Pakistani pilgrims would have the privilege of performing Hajj.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Pakistani cricketers have demonstrated their religious devotion. Earlier this year, Babar Azam, along with Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, and other national cricketers, embarked on a journey to the holy city of Makkah to perform Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan.