Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi has termed inclusion of two Chinese cricketers in Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday as “a new breakthrough in cricket”.
“Two Chinese cricketers will be with the Peshawar Zalmi squad from today. This step will go a long way in facilitating aspiring cricketers in China and in reinforcing the bond between the two nations,” he said while welcoming the Chinese cricketers, Jian Li and Zhang Yufie who have reached Dubai. Both players will reportedly train with Peshawar Zalmi squad.
While interviewing Zhang Yufie, former Pakistani cricketer and now a commentator, Ramiz Raja asked him few questions that might be interesting for you.
Read: Peshawar Zalmi to train Global Zalmi players during PSL Season 3
Yufie told he was from Beijing, the capital city of China. He said he had arrived at Dubai to play cricket for Peshawar Zalmi.
What do you call cricket in Chinese ?? Any guesses… listen from the horses mouth.. pic.twitter.com/7kcNpS4TBO
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) March 1, 2018
The most fascinating part of the interview for local was when Yufie was asked what they called cricket in Chinese and the word he spoke had locals’ head spin. In fact, its pronunciation apparently seemed an expletive word for Pakistanis. In Chinese they call it Ban Qiu (ban choou), however, Chinese also call cricket as ‘cricket’ as well.
Even Ramiz Raja had to ask him again to clarify if the Chinese cricketer really pronounced what Ramiz had thought and you cannot say for sure if it would have cleared his confusion.
Cricket was introduced by the British Royal Navy (HMS Highflyer) to Chinese city Shanghai in 1858. It is played in China, but so far there’s no Chinese team at international level.
