Daily Times

Pakistan batsman Asif Ali’s two-year-old daughter Noor Fatima, who was fighting stage IV cancer, died at a hospital in the United States. Asif Ali is expected to leave the tour of England following the death of his daughter.

Earlier on Sunday, the 27-year-old Ali made 22 during Pakistan’s 54-run defeat by England in the fifth and final one-day international at Headingley – a loss that saw England take the series 4-0 after the opening match was washed out.

Ali featured in every game of the series, scoring two fifties with a career-best of 52 in the third ODI in Bristol.

The hard-hitting Ali has scored 342 runs in 16 ODIs at an average of 31.09.

He was not included in Pakistan’s preliminary squad for the World Cup in England, which starts later this month, but that would not prevent him being selected in the final 15-man squad for the tournament.

Teams have until June 23 to name their World Cup squads.

Before his departure for the limited-overs series in England, Ali had tweeted on April 24 that he was sending his daughter to the United States for treatment.

He had also requested his fans to pray for his daughter.

Condolences poured in on Twitter when the team media manager confirmed that Asif Ali’s daughter lost her battle with cancer.