Genius in the time of hate and bloodshed
Interview: Sheela Bhatt
Yusuf Khan, Irfan Pathan's brother: We were involved in cricket from our childhood.
Both of us used to watch mohalla cricket on our way back from school -- when we were late returning home, our father always knew where to look for us.
My father was also fond of cricket, so he too wanted us to play. He got us a bat and ball, and at first we used to play in a compact space near our room inside the mosque -- our neighbours used to complain about it.
Mehboob Khan: We were living in a mosque, and people who came to offer prayers didn't like the boys playing inside, so they complained and said we should be thrown out. To avoid these problems, I got them a membership at the Baroda Sports Club.
Yusuf Khan: In 1992, we paid Rs 120 each as entry fee. My parents used to regularly attend our matches at the inter-school level, where we played for MES High School. My father was always busy -- there was his work, then cleaning the mosque and also reciting prayers five times a day, yet somehow he always managed to come watch us play.
After the morning namaaz, he would get a slightly longer gap, before the second namaaz, so during that period he would rush to where we were playing to watch, and he would bring bananas, for us and for the other players.
In the evenings, he would always ask about the score, about how Irfan and I had played. My mother learnt the game more slowly, but even she would ask a lot of questions about how we had played.
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Yusuf Khan and Irfan Pathan (left and second from left) with their father Mehboob Khan, (third from left). Photograph, courtesy the Pathan family