‘Life first, then cricket’ for Aqib Ilyas after recovering from bone cancer scare

Oman batter has returned to cricket in style at Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe after missing 18 months due to a tumour

Aaqib IIyas of Oman plays a shot during the Cricket World Cup Qualifier against Ireland in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on June 19, 2023. Photo: ICC

It says much about the class of Aqib Ilyas that, when he was dismissed for 53 against UAE on Wednesday, he actually saw his career average drop.

It was his second half century in the space of three days, as he played his part in Oman's rousing wins against Ireland and UAE.

Really, he is just warming up. The Muscat-raised batter is getting back into the old routine at the Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Bulawayo having had his international career interrupted for 18 months by a health scare.

Ilyas was training with Oman ahead of a home T20 World Cup qualifying tournament at the start of last year. He laboured through some running drills and felt acute pain in his ankle.

Oman’s physio felt swelling and recommended an immediate trip to hospital. After X-rays and a CAT scan, Ilyas was informed he had a potentially cancerous bone tumour.

“It was too scary,” Ilyas told The National. “My parents were back in Pakistan, and I couldn’t speak to them. My younger brother was sitting right next to me, and I started crying.

“I thought of how my mother would feel when she got to hear this because in my mind, this was cancer. I knew the bone had been swollen for a long time, so I thought it must have spread a long way.

“I messaged [Oman coach Duleep Mendis] and said, ‘I am done with my cricket. I won’t be able to continue because the doctors told me I might be going through cancer.’

“I started crying, and my brother said, ‘What has happened? I never shared it with him because he is younger than me. Then my cousin came and said, ‘What happened? You went to the hospital and now you are not speaking to anyone.’ I said the doctors had told me this might be cancer.”

It took a friend who worked at the hospital to help dissipate Ilyas’ fear. He explained the difference between malign and benign tumours, and that there was a chance of recovery.

Oman Cricket stepped in to help their man, too. Pankaj Khimji, the Muscat industrialist who is the cricket board’s chairman, reassured Ilyas they would look after him, and said he could go anywhere in the world for his surgery.

Rather than stay at home in Muscat, where he would risk spending his rehab moping around while his mates played cricket without him, he opted to travel to Pakistan, where his extended family are based.

“I said that after the operation, being apart from cricket will be depressing,” Ilyas said. “My team will be playing and I will be out of this beautiful game for a long time.”

Surgery was complex, given the bone had grown misshapen around the tumour. But he received the good news that it was benign.

“My father started crying,” Ilyas said when the news was passed on. “He had been very concerned.

“They only wanted to open the bone once, and everyone was praying for me that the results would be benign.

“I received a call from the doctor who said, ‘You don’t have to worry about anything. It was a benign tumour.’

“My father was right in front of me, and he started crying. These are the moments you remember.”

Being in the care of his family was exactly where he wanted to be. But it did not take long for his mind to wander back to thinking of a return to the cricket field.

“Family is the first thing that comes into your mind during a bad time,” he said.

“Even if you are at the ground and you don’t do well, your brothers and sisters are the first thing that come into your mind.

“Life is first, then cricket – but cricket is also a major thing in my life.”

His rehab was slow. It took more than a year to get back on the field. Now he is back on the international stage, it is like he was never away.

Certainly, it must feel that way to opposition bowlers. Especially those from the UAE, many of whom know Ilyas well and regard him as a friend.

Ilyas grew up in Muscat but his university studies brought him to Dubai. In his time in the UAE he wowed the domestic cricket scene to such an extent that an inquiry was made as to whether he would consider staying and qualifying for the national team.

His heart remained in Oman, though, and he has returned to have a fine international career – illness and injury notwithstanding. In 18 ODI innings to date, Ilyas has never failed to make at least double figures. He has two centuries, plus seven half-centuries besides.

“I feel like am very blessed to have a talent for cricket,” Ilyas said.

“Former cricketers used to say to me they have seen me playing quality shots and that I have a lot of talent, but at that time maybe I wasn’t thankful enough to the Almighty.

“Now, after being out for so long, I am thankful to Him for even the small moments. Life, you get it once and you have to live it. I take it as a blessing that I am in the field and can play for this team.”