Former Australia pacer Brett Lee received a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of gratitude for his ‘friendship’ towards the country on the occasion of India’s Republic Day. India is also celebrating its 75th anniversary of Independence from colonial rule. The 45-year-old took to tTwitter to thank the Prime Minister.
Lee posted an image of the letter, signed by Modi, on Twitter. Accompanying the picture, Lee wrote: “Such an honour to receive this letter. Thank you @narendramodi.”
“It’s no secret how much I love India & its people & feel grateful that I’ve been able to spend so many years enjoying this beautiful country. I’m a few days late, but Happy Republic Day India,” he added.
Lee tagged the official Twitter handles of the Prime Minister’s Office and the High Commission of India in Canberra.
In his letter to Lee, PM Modi extended the greetings of India's 73rd Republic Day and mentioned that the country also is celebrating its 75 years of Independence from the British rule this year. He further added that he decided to write the letter to him with a sense of gratitude for his affection towards the nation and hoped the Aussie continues to work closely with India and its people. PM Modi went on to add that the close ties between Lee and the Indians, display the strong relationship shared by India and Australia.
One of the fastest bowlers in history, Lee played 76 Tests, 221 One Day Internationals, and 25 T20 Internationals for Australia between 1999 and 2012. He retired from all forms of cricket in 2015. He was a part Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Lee also enjoys great camaraderie with Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh .
Lee was cast in the Indo-Australian film UnIndian opposite actress Tannishtha Chatterjee. Movie was shot in Sydney and released in India in 2016. He also had a role in Haan Main Tumhara Hoon with legendary singer Asha Bhosle, with whom he recorded a duet. Lee also had a cameo role as himself in the Harman Baweja starrer Victory.
Prominent cricket personalities around the globe like Matthew Hayden, Jonty Rhodes, Chris Gayle, and Kevin Pietersen received personalised letters from the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on the occasion of the 73rd Republic Day of India .
