One frame at a time! Story of Multan's Minhas brothers through their father's lens

NEW DELHI: Kashif Minhas has captured thousands of photographs of cricketers over the years. He is also an avid birdwatcher who sometimes waits for hours to get that perfect shot.

But when his sons are playing and he is busy behind the lens on the ground, the avid shutterbug finds it difficult to keep his nerves in check."I have thousands of photographs of international cricketers. When I am completely focused on a match, I become very attentive to every ball. Capturing a catch at the right moment is special. However, these days, when my sons are playing, I sometimes enjoy watching the cricket live more than photographing it," Kashif Minhas, who runs a car business in Multan for a living, tells TimesofIndia.com.

Earlier this year, Kashif was caught on camera by the broadcasters after his elder son, Arafat Minhas, playing only his third ODI, got out against Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. As Arafat was dismissed, Kashif, standing behind the boundary rope with his camera, could not hold back his emotions."I was clicking his photographs, and the moment he got out, I put my hand on the camera and lowered my head. The television cameras caught that reaction, and it went viral," he says.

"They [the broadcasters] know I am his father, so they often keep a camera on me. I even asked the director not to focus on me because I did not want to be shown in front of everyone. People think I am an official photographer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which I am not. I freelance for a local newspaper, Daily Pakistan. But they told me that the visual had helped them garner a lot of views, so I thought, 'Chalo, kisi ka toh bhala ho raha' (At least someone is benefiting from it)," he adds.Kashif, however, was deeply hurt by the false stories that circulated after the visuals went viral."That story made me sad. We have been in the car business since 1980, and I have a large showroom in Multan. Some people portrayed the story as if we belonged to a poor family and I had started photographing my children because we had run out of money. That is not the case. Photography is just my hobby. I have a very good car business and import cars from Japan.

I never needed money to fund my children's cricket," he says.

Kashif's two sons, Arafat Minhas and Sameer Minhas, have shown the world what they are capable of. Arafat has played five ODIs and seven T20Is for Pakistan. The all-rounder has already taken two five-wicket hauls, one each against Australia and England, in his brief international career. Sameer Minhas has lit up age-group cricket, and one cannot forget his 172 off 113 balls against India in the 2025 U-19 Asia Cup final.Kashif says his third son is also getting ready."The world doesn't know about my third son, Abdullah Minhas. He is immensely talented as well. He is a left-handed top-order batter and a right-arm leg-break bowler. He has been selected at the Under-17 level and is working hard," says a proud father.

Like many fathers in the subcontinent, Kashif, too, is a cricket tragic."I was also a cricketer. I represented my regional team in Multan.

But my father asked me to quit cricket and focus on the family business. He told me to leave cricket or leave home. I left home for two or three days, but then my mother asked me to come back and give up cricket. Nothing is more important to me than my mother, so I quit," he recalls.But one fine day, while playing with a tape ball in their car porch, Kashif's eyes lit up when he saw Arafat and Sameer, then aged nine and seven, respectively, cutting, driving and pulling.

"The floor was wet, and their hand-eye coordination was amazing. When I saw my children playing, I immediately realised that they had something special in them. I decided that what had happened to me should not happen to them. I wanted them to have the opportunity to pursue cricket," he says."I took them to a local cricket academy, and when I saw how well they were playing against pace, I began to take their cricket more seriously.

Arafat performed well in the PCB Under-13 tournament, then at the Under-16 and Under-19 levels. Sameer followed in his footsteps, and soon Abdullah will do the same. We kept trying and praying, and Allah blessed us," he adds.

Kashif, who had to give up his own cricketing ambitions, acknowledges that cricket is a tough sport to succeed in and requires much more than time and money."It requires a lot of dedication. You have to make sacrifices.

I was away with my children for their training when I heard the news of my father's death. After his demise, I had to spend a lot of time at the office. But whenever they played matches outside Multan, I would travel and sit at the ground from morning until evening," he recalls.As his sons progressed through age-group cricket, Kashif came up with the idea of taking up photography as a way to stay close to them. He started freelancing and soon found work with a local daily.

As Arafat and Sameer began making waves with their performances, Kashif, too, became a familiar face on cricket grounds across Pakistan, camera in hand.

"It was an amazing moment for me," says Kashif, recalling Arafat's ODI debut against Australia in Rawalpindi."I never imagined that a day would come when my children would represent Pakistan in international cricket and I would be on the ground photographing them.

It felt like a blessing, and I was very happy that day. He [Arafat] performed well in the last match [against England]," he further adds.Kashif has never been harsh on his sons regarding cricket. But he has one dream he hopes to fulfil through them: winning an ICC trophy."I was never harsh on them. When they were not performing well, I would tell them that it was not their day and that their time would come. I would encourage them to stay prepared for the next opportunity.

I never wanted to put unnecessary pressure on them. But I will be even happier when my children win an ICC trophy for their country," he says.

The Minhas family could have etched its name in the Guinness World Records, with members representing Pakistan at different age-group levels. But the PCB has declined a request from the over-50s team to participate in the International Masters Cricket World Cup, which is being hosted by India in January next year.

Minhas Sr was a member of that squad. Pakistan won the previous edition of the tournament, held in Sri Lanka last year, but this time the board has informed the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association that its team will not be permitted to travel to India and participate."It would have been great to represent Pakistan, but it's okay. I will get the chance later," he says.For Kashif Minhas, cricket has come full circle. He once had to abandon his own ambitions at his father's insistence, but he made sure his sons had the freedom to pursue theirs. Today, he watches them represent Pakistan, capturing their highs and lows through his lens while carrying the hopes of a father who knows what it means to let go of a dream. An ICC trophy would be the ultimate reward, but for Kashif, seeing his sons live the dream he once had to give up is already a journey worth cherishing.