This is apropos a Business Recorder news item "Original 'Little Master' Hanif Mohammad dies" carried the newspaper yesterday. According to it, former Pakistan batsman Hanif Mohammad, player of the world's longest Test innings, died Thursday in a Karachi hospital after a prolonged illness. The 81-year-old was famous for his dogged battling in Pakistan's nascent years.
That a very large number of people belonging to different walks of life, including former Test cricketers such as Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad, attending his funeral yesterday is a fact that speaks about the late Hanif's popularity. He faced the most ferocious bowling attack in his career through his dexterity in the game of cricket. It is said that application of mind is more important than knowledge. But Hanif was good at both. He showed to his team-mates and the world that cricket is one of the sports which requires dedication and perseverance.