The original 'Little Master', Pakistan's legendary cricketer Hanif Mohammad passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 81 on Thursday. The 'Asian Bradman' had been battling lung cancer since 2013
The original 'Little Master', Pakistan's legendary cricketer Hanif Mohammad has passed away at a Karachi hospital at the age of 81.
The hospital spokesman confirmed the news.
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Known as Asian Bradman, Hanif, known as the little master for his batting skills was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 and went to London for surgery and treatment and returned home well. But Shoaib said the cancer had spread with time.
Hanif Mohammad
He was shifted to the ventilator at Karachi's Aga Khan Hospital a couple of days ago after his health deteriorated.
Hanif was admitted to hospital three weeks ago following breathing problems.
Hanif, who was born in Junagadh in the Indian state of Gujarat Hanif on December 21, 1934, had been battling for his life after being put on a ventilator since July 30.
Hanif was a member of Pakistan's first touring squad that went to India in 1952/53. Having opened as a 17-year-old schoolboy for the country's first Test against India in Delhi in October 1952, he went on to play 55 Tests in which he scored 3915 runs at an average of 43.98, including 12 hundreds. In a first-class career spanning 238 matches, Hanif scored 17059 runs at an average of 52.32.
He scored a memorable 337 runs against the West Indies in 1957/58. It remains the longest innings in Test history (and stood as the longest in all first-class cricket for over 40 years).
The 'Little Master' followed up his 970-minute innings in Bridgetown a year later with the highest first-class innings to that point, 499 run out. It is surpassed only by Brian Lara when he scored 501 not out.
Interestingly, Hanif's importance to Pakistan cricket is understood from the fact that he has the highest proportion of Test centuries in which no team-mate also scored a century.
The legendary batsman was earlier on Thursday declared clinically dead for six minutes before he was revived back to life at the Aga Khan hospital.
In what can only be described as a miraculous happening, Hanif's son, Shoaib Muhammad first announced from the hospital on various television channels that his father had passed away after losing a protracted battle with various ailments due to which doctors had put the former legend on a ventilator. But few minutes later it was announced that Hanif had not passed away and was alive.
"His heartbeat had stopped for six minutes but the doctors managed to revive his heartbeat back," Shoaib said.
"God has given him a second chance and I just feel this is due to the prayers of his millions of fans and supporters," he said.
Shoaib explained that he was on the way to hospital when a relative had informed him that his 81-year-old father had passed away.
"I just panicked and started crying but when I reached the hospital I was told his heartbeat had stopped for six minutes but doctors had managed to bring him back," a sobbing Shoaib said.
"Hanif Muhammad is alive and he is being provided the best possible treatment after he was admitted to hospital for complicated respiratory problems two weeks back," a spokesman of the hospital told the media.
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