‘I hope no one ever goes through this pain’: Fawad Ahmed mourns death of infant son

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Former teammates and officials are sending their love to cricket journeyman and former Australian player Fawad Ahmed following the death of his infant son.

Ahmed, 41, announced the tragedy with a broken heart emoji on social media site X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night.

“Unfortunately after a long struggle my little man has lost the painful and tough fight, I believe you are in a better place, we will miss you so much, I hope no one ever goes through this pain,” Ahmed said.

Former Australian captain Tim Paine and fellow Aussie internationals Megan Schutt and Trent Copeland were among those to respond to Ahmed’s post and send him their love, as did Cricket Victoria chief executive officer Nick Cummins.

It’s now more than 10 years since Ahmed emerged as one of the great stories in Australian cricket. A leg-spin bowler, he played first class cricket in his home country, Pakistan, before moving to Australia and applying for refugee status.

His talents saw him rise to the Victorian team and the Melbourne Renegades before he was granted Australian citizenship in mid-2013 ahead of his selection to represent his adopted country in three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals. He later became a sought-after player in various T20 and short-form tournaments around the world thanks to his excellent control with the ball.

Fawad Ahmed’s quest to gain Australian citizenship attracted headlines in 2013 as he emerged as one fo the best spin bowlers in the country. Credit: Pat Scala

Last month, Ahmed confided to the Cricket Australia website about his son’s myriad health battles and the care he was receiving in the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“We say everything has been written,” he told the website. “His destiny and faith have already been written. But sometimes in the destiny, we believe it might change if you pray.

“We said, ‘Look, he hasn’t got any treatment – no medicine, nothing – he’s still alive, he’s growing’. Let’s see, slowly, slowly, and we believe if he’s got days in this world, no one can stop him.

“And if he doesn’t have much time in this world, by all the hard work we can’t increase it. No one would let their loved ones go from this world, you know, but that’s how it goes.

“And so we pray, we hope, and we believe he’s going to get better.”

Ahmed was a key member of a strong Victorian team that won three consecutive Sheffield Shield finals in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. In the first of those finals he took 8-89 off 40 overs. Cricket Victoria is weighing up how best to pay its respects to Ahmed, his wife and their daughter following the death of their son and brother.

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