ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Cricket is filled with heart-wrenching stories that can even turn a stone emotional. There are so many stories that are not only emotional but show the level of dedication a player has towards this sport.
Oman’s captain Aqib Ilyas has a similar story. It has been an incredible journey from being on the verge of death to captaining his side in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The 31-year-old will take over the captaincy of his side in the T20 World Cup. But there was a time when he thought his career and life were over. When the doctors revealed that the pain in his left ankle was because of a cancerous tumor, his whole life came crashing down.
A Scary Place
It was scary for the right-handed batsman, so much so that he thought that his life was over. “I thought life and cricket are over for me,” Ilyas stated in the latest interview by The Indian Express.
Ilyas had lost his friend a few months ago because of the same illness. When Ilyas’s doctor told him about the tumor, it was unlike anything he had experienced before. He was even concerned about walking again, let alone playing cricket.
The first thought that crossed his mind was whether he could make it or not. He even texted his coach that he was done with cricket. He was grateful to the Oman Cricket Board, which completely took care of his treatment.
Ilyas flew back to his family in Pakistan and the doctor came there with him. The surgery was complex and the tumor turned out to be benign. Which gave him hope to resume cricket again but there was no timeline.
ICC T20 World Cup 2024
It was a slow surgery followed by an even slower rehab. It took him eight months to walk again and 18 months to return to the cricket field and was a tiring process in which Ilyas lost so much weight.
In his first return match, Ilyas scored a brilliant 52 against Ireland in the ODI World Cup qualifier. He will always hold that inning close to his heart. He was named Oman’s captain last month and will do everything to help his team in every single way.
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