Former Pakistan batsman Akhtar Sarfraz dies aged 43

Akhtar Sarfraz, the former Pakistan and Peshawar batsman, has died aged 43 after a battle with colon cancer. He passed away at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial cancer hospital, which was built by Imran Khan, in Peshawar.

A left-hander, Sarfraz played four ODIs between December 1997 and October 1998, scoring 66 runs in four innings. He had a more successful domestic career - 5720 runs in 118 first-class games and 2636 runs in 98 List A games - which spanned over a decade. His last competitive game was for Peshawar in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 2007.

After ending his playing career, Sarfraz worked as a regional coach and then served as a selector for the Pakistan women's side between 2018 and 2019.

Inna lillahi, wa inna illahi raajeoon - Extremely saddened to hear about the loss of #AkhtarSarfraz who was a great human being. He has been a good coach, manager & most importantly a great friend to me. Thoughts with his family at this tragic time. Allah magfirat farmaaye, Ameen pic.twitter.com/EzOP2bcKFR

— Imran Khan (@ImeeK218) June 10, 2019

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani paid tribute to Sarfraz, saying, "The PCB is shocked to hear the sad news of Akhtar's passing. It is very difficult to accept and comprehend if you lose someone from the cricket fraternity, particularly as young and lively as Akhtar who was admired, respected and loved by everyone.

"It's tragic that death cut short his life at such a young age, but he will live in our memories for a very long period. On behalf of the PCB, I want to extend my deepest condolences to Akhtar's family and assure them that in these difficult times, we stand firmly with them."