Rafatullah — realising his brother’s dream

When he himself had given up, the 39-year-old’s brother dreamt of him playing for Pakistan

KARACHI: On a cold winter’s night in Peshawar, Safiullah Mohmand had a dream that his brother will one day don the green of Pakistan.

Two years later, at the ripe old age of 39, Rafatullah Mohmand is set to fulfil both his and his brother’s dreams.

“I had given up the hope of playing for Pakistan a few years ago as I looked at my age and thought that there is no way I’ll play international cricket now,” Rafatullah tells The Express Tribune. “I’m not very social so there weren’t many opinions or advice from others for me to leave the game. But one question kept on lingering: what next?”

And just when all hope seemed lost and Rafatullah thought of walking away, Safiullah’s dream came like a heaven-sent message. “Ever since the dream, my brother has spurred me on to keep on playing,” said the 39-year-old. “At times, even I thought he was crazy to keep pushing me like that but now I’m really thankful to him. My dream had almost faded away but his kept mine alive.”

It has been 19 years since Rafatullah made his first-class debut, and after appearing for teams such as Peshawar, Wapda and HBL over the years, he had even started to wonder whether he was blocking a youngster’s path to success by extending his domestic career.

Almost a decade ago, when England toured Pakistan in 2005-06, he represented Pakistan A and impressed with a solid 55 against the likes of James Anderson, Liam Plunkett and Kabir Ali in Lahore.

“I thought I might get a call-up for the Pakistan side after scoring that half-century but it did not arrive,” he said.

Rafatullah continued to play for the A side, touring under Misbahul Haq to Australia in 2006 where the team took on the A sides of Australia, New Zealand and India.

Rafatullah selected, Umar Akmal dropped from Pakistan T20 squad against England

Three of the seven matches were washed away by rain but the aggressive right-hander still managed to finish as Pakistan’s second highest scorer behind Mohammad Hafeez; a knock of 84 against arch-rivals India particularly standing out.

Still, the eagerly awaited call never came, but playing domestic cricket in the UK ensured that Rafatullah never suffered from the financial woes that plague so many others.

When finally a national side did come calling, it wasn’t Pakistan. In 2009, he was offered the chance to play for Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup qualifiers by former first-class teammate and mentor Kabir Khan, then the head coach of the Afghanistan side. Rafatullah accepted.

“I thought that was my chance to become an international player,” he said. “The plan was to perform well for Afghanistan and make my place in the Pakistan side; just like Dirk Nannes had done in the Australia side by performing for the Netherlands.”

Lady luck, however, was not on Rafatullah’s side and as it transpired, he was declared ineligible to play for Afghanistan. “I was ruled out by an ICC clause as I hadn’t played four years of domestic cricket in Afghanistan.”

Dreams of playing for Pakistan had not been abandoned back then and the Peshawar-born realised domestic performances were his only way of moving the selectors’ hands.

In December 2009, Rafatullah made history along with Aamer Sajjad. The pair put on a record highest-ever second-wicket partnership of 580 for Wapda, with Rafatullah scoring a 488-ball 302.

Rafatullah set to become Pakistan’s oldest T20I debutant

“I was so desperate to get my chance that I contacted the national selectors and the PCB myself regarding the world record we had made, hoping that it will help my case,” said Rafatullah. “But still all my efforts went in vain and all I had to show for it was a cash reward by the PCB.”

When a call still failed to materialise, Rafatullah’s head began to drop. “It was yet another big disappointment and at such pivotal a moment of your career, you feel almost certain that a chance would come.”

He finished that season with 698 runs from nine matches, way behind leading run-scorer Asad Shafiq, who made 1,104 runs in 11 matches.

In the 2013 President’s Cup, Rafatullah finished as  the second-highest scorer in the 50-over games; his 425 in six matches only two runs short of Sohaib Maqsood. Still, he continued to remarkably remain under the radar.

Peshawar, and Rafatullah along with it, finally made sure that everyone was forced to take notice of them with consecutive T20 titles. The Haroon Rasheed-led selection committee and T20 skipper Shahid Afridi realised they could no longer ignore the 39-year-old.

“I’m thankful to Afridi and Haroon for giving me a chance,” he said. “I want to thank Wapda and our Peshawar coach Abdur Rehman for making me feel wanted. Kabir is another person without whom I wouldn’t have been here.”



For now Rafatullah wants to savour every moment as much as he can. “When I was selected, I had tears of joy in my eyes,” he said. “I can’t wait for my Pakistan kit to arrive so I can wear it and look at myself in front of a mirror.”

Still he remains grounded and knows this is not the time for unreasonable dreams. “I don’t have much time left as a cricketer so my aims aren’t big,” he said. “All I want to do is to contribute something for Pakistan. Even if I get the chance to just field in one match, I would feel complete as a cricketer after having spent all my life trying to achieve this.”

It has been a long time coming, but Safiullah’s dream is finally set to become Rafatullah’s reality.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2015.

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