It’s Team India for Pak captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s Etawah uncle
KANPUR: When India take on Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday, Mehboob Hasan from Etawah, Uttar Pradesh will be rooting for Team India.
However, it is a different matter that Hasan’s nephew Sarfraz Ahmed is captain of the Pakistan team.
So, how would he deal with the pressure of an India-Pakistan match? “Where is the pressure? He (Sarfraz) is playing for his team. My children and I always root for Team India,” said Hasan.
“His team cannot match our team. We have better players and our team is superior. I can bet that India will win the trophy,” said Hasan, who once went to the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer to pray for Sarfraz getting a chance in Pakistan’s playing XI.
Hasan, a senior clerk with Etawah Agriculture Engineering College, lives in Etawah with his family.
Sarfraz’s mother Aqeela Bano (Hasan’s sister), after marrying Shakeel Ahmad, moved to Karachi, where the family runs a stationary shop.
Despite tricky visa regulations and only three face-toface meetings, Hasan, 52, and Sarfraz, 30, share a close bond.
The last time uncle and nephew met was in Chandigarh last year when Pakistan played Australia in a World Twenty20 match. “I am happy he is doing so well in life and cricket,” he said.
Hasan keeps in touch with his sister Aqeela through Skype. “She is not well these days. I want to go and see her in Karachi,” he said.