PSL team owner seeks Pakistani citizenship for Darren Sammy
Often mistakenly referred to as Shahid Afridi's younger cousin, the owner of PSL's Peshawar Zalmi, Javed Afridi has written a letter to the Pakistani President, Mamnoon Hussain requesting the latter to confer an honorary Pakistani citizenship to the present West Indian T20I captain, Darren Sammy.
Javed Afridi, in his aforementioned letter to the president of Pakistan, stated that Sammy “has offered his complete support to restore the international cricket in Pakistan.”
While talking about Darren Sammy, Afridi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Haier Pakistan wrote, “Mr. Darren Sammy is one of the most affable, popular and renowned Cricketer worldwide. He is also in love with Pakistan and its Cricket.”
“He (Darren Sammy) has offered his complete support to restore the international Cricket in Pakistan when other foreign players are absolutely averse to visiting Pakistan,” Javed Afridi added.
The Peshawar Zalmi owner, in his letter, further wrote, “We are extremely confident that this small gesture (of conferring honorary citizenship to Darren Sammy) will be a big leap forward in projecting a soft image of Pakistan at zero expense of the national exchequer, and thwarting the nefarious designs of our enemies who are sparing no opportunity to defame Pakistan’s image internationally.”
Also read: Video: Fans go crazy as Darren Sammy and Johnson Charles return home
The Pakistani entrepreneur even quoted Nelson Mandela to “counter the negative impact of about 15-year-old ongoing terrorism in the country” and stress on how sports can change the entire scenario.
This is what Javed Afridi wrote in his letter, “In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.’”
Here is a tweet by Javed Afridi, which shows the two-page letter which was addressed to Pakistani President:
Sammy's love affair with Pakistan:
Darren Sammy was a part of the Javed Afridi-owned Peshawar Zalmi side in the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League that was held in the United Arab Emirates, earlier this year.
The 32-year-old West Indian all-rounder has not only been tweeting a lot about his love for Pakistan but has also posted a few tweets in Pashtun. Here is a couple of them: