On Saturday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially announced that the Pakistan government would confer honorary citizenship on former West Indian skipper, Darren Sammy for his role in bringing international cricket back to the country. The all-rounder, who is presently leading Peshawar Zalmi in the fifth Pakistan Super League season, will be given the honorary citizenship and Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Haider, on March 23 by President Arif Alvi.\
Sammy, who has appeared in the PSL since its inception, played a crucial role in helping the PCB bring back international cricket to the country when in 2017 he agreed to come to Lahore and play in the PSL final despite most of the oversees players declined to play in the country due to security concerns. He eventually captained Peshawar to the title in the second final in Lahore.
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In a tweet, the PCB’s media department announced that citizenship will be conferred on Sammy for his “invaluable contribution to cricket in Pakistan”. “President of Pakistan Arif Alvi will confer the highest civilian award and honorary citizenship to Darren Sammy on 23 March for his invaluable contribution to cricket in Pakistan,” read the tweet.
President of Pakistan Dr @ArifAlvi will confer the highest civilian award and honourary citizenship to Darren Sammy on 23 March for his invaluable contribution to cricket in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/mn9AiLknB0
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) February 22, 2020
Javed Afridi, the owner of Peshawar Zalmi, said that they had requested the Pakistan President to provide Sammy with honorary citizenship because of his services to Pakistan cricket.
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Sammy would be the third international cricketer to get honorary citizenship of a country as before him Australian Matthew Hayden and South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs were given honorary citizenship by the St Kitts government after the 2007 World Cup. The all-rounder, who led West Indies to two World T20 Cup titles, remains a popular figure in Pakistan.
