Sammy is to also receive the honorary citizenship of Pakistan.
Daren Sammy has always been a big supporter of Pakistan in the cricket world and has done everything he can to see international cricket return to the troubled nation. The two-time T20 World Cup-winning former West Indies captain has been part of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) since long back.
He has also traveled to the country with the World XI side in 2017 to support its cricket resumption.
Sammy, who captains the Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, was conferred the nation’s highest civilian honor Nishaan-e-Pakistan and the Honorary Citizenship of Pakistan in March 2020, before the Coronavirus pandemic struck.
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Now the all-rounder expects to receive the honor in early 2021. “I was supposed to get the award on the 23rd of March but the COVID situation happened and the borders were closed. People had to return home. I would probably have to wait till later this year or next year to officially get the award,” Sammy told Sportstar.
“Nishaan-e-Pakistan award is very honorable to me and I am grateful and thankful. It is a privilege to be recognized in a place with over 200 million people compared to St. Lucia with 140,000 people. It is something to be proud of. Everybody knows how much I have enjoyed playing in Pakistan,” he said.
Apart from this, Sammy also congratulated Azhar Ali-led Pakistani side for touring England despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“First it was done by the West Indies followed by Pakistan. We should not take them for granted, and their love for cricket and want to give the viewers some cricket action. But they haven’t really played well. They had a good opportunity in the first Test but they let it slip away,” said the 36-year-old.
He also lauded players like Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Babar Azam and called Pakistan an all-format team.
“Pakistan is a team which has good batsmen in its top five in all formats like Babar Azam, and you have young fast bowlers in Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah and then, Yasir Shah as a spinner. Test cricket is a contest where you have to be mentally and technically sound to beat England in their conditions and I don’t think Pakistan has been that consistent,” he said.
(Sportstar inputs)