The Multani siblings have competed behind closed doors in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), and it’s a little cruelly ironic that Arafat Minhas and Sameer Minhas – while showcasing bombs of offensive talent – are still doing it unsigned.
Arafat, 21, is a left-arm spinner who has taken nine wickets in 10 matches to help Multan Sultans reach the playoffs.
It was also when he was joined in the team by his younger brother Sameer, 19, who is still to make his senior Pakistan debut. The explosive batter has shone for Islamabad United with 299 runs in nine matches making him one of the stars for the three-time champions who also secured their spot in playoffs.
Final of PSL 2026, which was played in empty stadiums due to the war in Middle East and rising fuel prices, will see fans back in attendance on Sunday, May 3.
It is still to be decided if Arafat’s Multan and Sameer’s Islamabad will qualify for the title decider.
Of course not geopolitics, but the brothers’ cricket journey has a tense backstory
The father, Kashif, a former Under-19 cricketer himself was reluctant in the beginning to support them to play cricket fearing objections from the head of the family.
I played for the Multan Under-19 team. My father however never let me play, and even threw me out of the house. He said, if you play cricket, then this family has no place for the likes of you. As a result, I moved out of the family home,” Kashif told The Morning Show Monday.
Kashif’s mother, left heartbroken by the state of affairs that unfolded dramatically, asked him to come back.
Eventually Kashif quit cricket and took over the family car import business.
Speaking about his personal life, he said: “I got married and had two sons (Arafat and Sameer), I soon realised that the both of them had an innate interest in cricket.
Few gave a second glance to Sameer and Arafat wielding plastic bats in the backyard, since Kashif “did not dare” ask his father for them to have training in proper batting.
Kashif only introduced his sons to serious cricket when his father died in 2014.
“I even brought in a Level 2 coach for them. I used to take them into academies, monitor their diet, make sure they had the right nutrients to strengthen. All I wanted was for them to become international cricketers,” he said.
Kashif refused to take a breath when the world hit an absolute standstill thanks to Covid-19.
At the time, I set up nets and lights on our rooftop so that they could train. “I didn’t want them to get out of rhythm,” he said.
The sacrifices paid off soon enough though, as once excelling at age-group level Arafat and Sameer soon came knocking on the door of the Pakistan selectors.
Maqbool Ahmad: “I remember when I was working with Arafat, and he got the first call-up for the Pakistan senior team (in 2023). I was speechless with pride, he said.
I felt he would do something special when Sameer made the Pakistan Under-19 team — and he backed it up with a magnificent record-winning hundred (172 off 113 balls) against India in the final. After that, the entire cricketing world paid attention to him! »
And now as both brothers start the playoff phase of PSL for their respective sides Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, Kashif said his sons should not to be riot with past laurels.
“Now both are representing their teams well in the PSL. For me, it is an inspiring moment,” said Kashif, whose youngest son, 15-year-old Abdullah, is also performing magnificently on the age-group circuit.
“Just to see all three of my sons playing Pakistan regularly in formats “I would also have made him a cricketer, my daughter I mean,” he said in that voice.
Kashif, a wildlife photographer who also takes pictures during cricket matches, admitted that no son of his would ever have got this far without the support of wife Uzma Minhas.
“My wife has been a massive influence in their cricket; she would travel with us to various venues for training and matches in remote areas.
Everything from years of sacrifice to hard work from our whole family = what you see today.