When Younus Khan became the first man in 90 years to score three centuries in a row against the mighty Aussies in test cricket, his family was undoubtedly proud. However, his monumental achievement was overshadowed by the tragic death of his nephew Saad Khan.
The day after Younus raised his bat to accept the applause for the first of his three centuries, Saad, who wanted to become a great cricketer like his uncle, lost his battle with hepatitis C while in India for a liver transplant.
So while the batsman was breaking records in Abu Dhabi, his brother Saeed Khan was coming to terms with the loss of his son Saad, a grade five student.
“There were mixed feelings in the family because my brother scored three consecutive centuries against Australia and equalled a 90-year record. At the same time, we were mourning the death of my son. Still, people were happy because Pakistan won the first test match,” Saeed told The Express Tribune.
Saeed said Younus was hesitant to participate in the test series as Saad was severely ill and had to be taken to India for treatment. “He was confused over the situation, but he was committed to making a distinction in the series,” added Saeed.
“His friends, old teammates and class fellows were congratulating me and other members of the family for his record-breaking achievements. Every child of the neighbourhood was delighted.”
Saeed said his deceased son was inspired by Younus Khan. He added his brother takes great interest in the children of the family and gives them his full attention when he is in the village.
Younus, 36, who smashed hundreds in both innings of the first test at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Dubai went on to score a third consecutive century in the next match and help Pakistan complete a whitewash of the series.
England’s Herbert Sutcliffe was the last man to score three hundreds in consecutive test innings against Australia in 1924-25. Before Younus, three batsmen—including Zaheer Abbas and Muddassar Nazar against India in 1982 and Muhammad Yousaf against West Indies in 2006—had achieved such a feat.
Hailing from Mardan, Younus Khan made his one-day international debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2000 and played over 290 games in the 50-over format. He has also played over 90 test matches and scored 8,032 runs with a top score of 313. In ODIs, he has hit 7,014 runs with 144 as his highest score in an innings.
Younus Khan led the Pakistan team that won the T20 world cup in 2009, beating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s Cricket Ground in England. He subsequently announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2014.
