Pakistan captain Babar Azam and teammate Mohammad Rizwan will become the first cricketers to join the prestigious Harvard Business School’s executive education program.

The star Pakistani duo will join the long list of top-tier sportspersons, who have pursued the course previously. The list includes footballers such as Kaka, Edwin van der Sar, Gerard Pique, Oliver Kahn; NBA stars like Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul and Paul Gasol.

According to the details, Babar and Rizwan are enrolled in the executive education program on The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (BEMS) which will run from May 31 to June 3 at the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.

The two cricketers will also engage with the various communities in the US after the program till June 13.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said his inspiration for joining the world-class program at Harvard was to connect, explore, listen, learn, grow, and give back to the community worldwide.

“I am sure there are scores of things to learn from the amazing athletes and top business executives from the entertainment, media, and sports industries who are coming from corners of the world,” said the No.1-ranked ODI batter.

Similarly, wicket-keeper batter Rizwan also expressed his delight on getting such a great learning opportunity.

“It is a huge honor to represent Pakistan on such a prestigious global stage. We are going to the BEMS program at Harvard to learn from the best of the best in the world – both in terms of faculty and program fellows – and at the same time to share our journey and learnings with everyone.” he said.

I am certain that this will be an exciting journey, and I look forward to sharing our learning and experiences with the next superstars of the cricket world,” Rizwan added.

Talha Rehmani, the founder and CEO of sports talent management company Saya Corporation, will also be part of the programme along with the two esteemed cricketers.

The programme will be chaired by Professor Anita Elberse, one of the youngest women ever to earn tenure at Harvard Business School.

“I am delighted to be able to welcome Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan to the Harvard Business School and to the BEMS program,” said Elberse. “We think the other participants will benefit greatly from their experiences as world-class athletes with a strong interest in the business world.”

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