Son of former Pakistani cricketer commits suicide

Former Pakistani cricketer Aamer Hanif's son has committed suicide by hanging himself over "non-selection in an Under-19 cricket team".

Mohammad Zaryab, who was a first-year college student and Hanif's oldest son, killed himself on Monday.

According to Hanif, who represented Pakistan in five ODIs during the 1990s, his son was upset after he was declared "too old" to be selected for the U-19s, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

Zaryab had in January represented Karachi in an U-19 tournament in Lahore, from where he was "sent home over an injury". The teenager had resisted the move, but he was given an assurance that he would be selected again, the report said.

However, he was rejected later on the grounds of being an "overage player".

Hanif said his son "was forced to commit suicide by coaches and people overseeing the affairs of Under-19 cricket in the country".

"My son was pressurised... The coaches' behaviour towards him forced him (to kill himself)," said Hanif, as he pleaded for "other such sons to be saved" from "such (non-cooperative) environment".

--IANS

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