Pakistan is making former West Indies captain Darren Sammy an honorary citizen for his role in restoring international cricket to the country.
Pakistan will also give Sammy its highest civilian award – Nishan-e-Pakistan – the Pakistan Cricket Board tweeted Saturday.
Sammy will be honored by Pakistan President Arif Alvi in a ceremony on March 23, a national holiday known as Pakistan Day.
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
Sammy is seen as having played a major role as a foreign player in helping the PCB bring international cricket back to Pakistan, following an attack by gunmen on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009.
Sammy has been leading Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League since the domestic Twenty20 tournament began in 2016.
Peshawar won the second edition of the PSL in Lahore in 2017. It was the first time that the PCB had organized a PSL game in Pakistan after the first edition and all the second edition — except the final — were played in the United Arab Emirates.
Sammy is currently leading Peshawar in the fifth edition of the PSL. The tournament is being played in its entirety for the first time in Pakistan.