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Pakistan's most capped umpire, Aleem Dar has shared that the saddest moment of his life, the death of his seven-month old daughter, was kept a secret from him by his wife and family members in the early stages of his international officiating career.
The 56-year-old retired umpire recounted on a Pakistani channel that his wife and his family took the decision as he was officiating at the ICC 2003 World Cup in South Africa.
"It was the start of my career as a ICC panel umpire and it was a very important assignment for my career and they knew if I came to know about my daughter's demise, I would return home immediately,” Dar said on the show.
"I was kept in the dark for nearly a month after her passing away and I only came to know about it by chance in Johannesburg where a Pakistani man who belonged to my hometown Sialkot came to offer his condolences to me.
"It was a big shock to me at that time and I immediately informed the ICC and returned home,” Dar said.
The umpire said the moment he learnt about his daughter's death he rang his wife and she started crying over the phone.
"I came to know later that my father had strictly told the media friends to not print the story," he added.
Dar stood in 145 Tests, 231 ODIs and 72 T20 Internationals in a career spanning from 2000 to 2023.