Zulqarnain Haider Profile

That innings was a testament to his character, as Haider's road to the top has been rocky, to say the least. He took part in the Under-15 World Cup in England in the summer of 2000 at the age of 13 only six months after his mother's death from cancer. His mother's dying wish had been that one of her four sons should travel abroad. Zulqarnain, the second, was the only one with the talent to excel as a cricketer, and it was the promise he made to her that drove him towards the top. Four years later, at the Under-19 World Cup in Dhaka, he scored a vital 23 not out from 18 balls, and claimed three catches, as Pakistan took the title in the final against West Indies.

Further tragedy was to strike as Haider prepared for his Test debut, as three days before the Edgbaston Test his father, Syed Raza Haider, was hospitalised with hepatitis C. He had an ulcer in his digestive system that caused profuse bleeding, leading to a coma. On the first morning of the Test, he briefly regained consciousness, but when Haider made his debut with wasn't sure if his father was even aware of the step his son has just taken. In the event, his father recovered enough to watch his son's sterling second-innings effort on television from his hospital bed. Although Pakistan still lost the match, Haider showed that he had the potential to succeed at cricket's top level.