Pakistan's new wicketkeeper might not know a lot about Raksha Bandhan but Zulqarnain Haider has decided to give his sister a very precious gift just around the time of the festival, which falls on August 24.
Pakistan's new wicketkeeper might not know a lot about Raksha Bandhan but Zulqarnain Haider has decided to give his sister a very precious gift just around the time of the festival, which falls on August 24.
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The latest entrant to Test cricket has three brothers and a sister, Kurutala, who is mentally challenged by birth. After meeting with several failures to get her treated in Pakistan the 24-year-old, who made his Test debut against England last week, is now looking towards India.
Haider's joy of scoring 88, the highest score of the Test, in the second innings was also marred by the news of his father Syed Raza being affected by Hepatitis C.
"It all happened all of a sudden and he had to be admitted. He was also in coma for four days and only recently did I manage to speak to him," Haider said.
Not many knew Haider before he made his debut but his fighting 88 has made people sit up and take notice.
Many were also touched by Haider's gesture of donating half his match fees to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, which is run by former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan.
"When my mother (Sayeda Zareen) died of cancer 12 years ago, I vowed to donate a part of my match fees to the hospital where my mother was treated. Unfortunately, the hospital did not have advanced facilities at that time," Haider said.
"I was very close my mother and could talk to her about anything.u00a0 It was her wish that I play for Pakistan and sadly she is not around to see me now," Haider added.
(The writer is a freelancer)
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