In a first, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan join Harvard Business School

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan have joined the Harvard Business School's executive education programme on the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (BEMS), becoming the first two cricketers to join the prestigious school.

The star duo will participate in the programme from May 31 to June 3 at the school's campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Both cricketers will also engage with various communities in the US after the programme till June 13.

Previously, this course has also been taken by other sportspersons including footballers Kaka, Edwin van der Sar, Gerard Pique, Oliver Kahn, NFL’s Brandon Marshall, NBA’s Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and Major League Baseball’s Alex Rodriguez.

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

Meanwhile, Babar also echoed similar thoughts.

“I am a lifelong learner and I have had detailed chats about this programme with Prof. Elberse and [Talha] Rehmani. My inspiration for joining this world-class programme at Harvard is 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 Babar.

Rehmani, the founder and CEO of sports talent management company Saya Corporation, will also be part of the programme.

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