England’s fast-bowler Saqib Mehmood, who will represent the Peshawar Zalmi franchise in the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) season five, has expressed his eagerness to play with Pakistan’s rising star Haider Ali.

The 23-year-old, as quoted by an interview published on Peshawar Zalmi’s official website on Wednesday, stated that he was looking forward to playing with fast-bowlers Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz alongside the talented batsman Haider.

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“You Know Wahab and Hassan Ali, two experienced bowlers who I’m looking forward to playing with but even Haider Ali. Played against him in the summer. Real talented batsman. So, there’s a lot of talent in the group that I'm looking forward to playing with,” Mehmood said.

“For me, it obviously means quite a lot. From Pakistan, I am from Attock. So, a lot of my family supports Peshawar Zalmi. I have got a lot of friends who have played here. Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Tom Banton. So, you know, I sent them all a message. They said it is a very good group of lads. Good coaching Group. So, you'll enjoy a lot. So, I’m looking forward to get in. Took first session today,” he added.

The pacer revealed that he was looking forward to playing in Pakistan and that he would give the team his best in the hopes of winning the tournament.

“Yeah, I was really looking forward to it. It’s been 10 years since I have come to Pakistan so I am glad I got the opportunity to come down and play some cricket,” he said. “A lot of you might not have heard about me or seen me play much but hopefully I can give my best for the next 3 games and try win this trophy.”