Former Pakistan international cricketer Aamer Hanif’s son has allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself after being snubbed by selectors for a local Under-19 cricket team, according to a report.

Mohammad Zaryab, who was a first-year college student, was upset after he was declared to be too old to be selected for a Karachi-based U-19 team, according to a PTI report quoting Geo News.

“My son was pressurised, he was told he was overage,” Hanif was quoted as saying. “The coaches’ behaviour towards him forced him [to kill himself],” he added. A prolific first-class cricketer, Hanif had represented Pakistan in five ODIs during the 1990s.

Zaryab had in January represented Karachi in an U-19 tournament in Lahore, from where he was reportedly sent home. The teenager had resisted the move, but he was given an assurance that he would be selected again, the report said.

However, Zaryab was rejected later on the grounds of being an overage player, added the report. None of the reports mentioned what his actual age was.

“What my son has done, or what he faced, I hope no other player has to go through this,” said Hanif, according to the Express Tribune. “He was pressurised too much while playing matches at the U19 level. He was disappointed and left all cricket behind and went into a deep depression. I tried to motivate him but he did this due to the injustices and mistreatment he faced at the U19 level.”

Secretary Zone four Karachi, Shamim Anwer, however, refused to accept the allegations that Zaryab was unfairly dropped from the team and was under pressure because of it.

According to a report in Dawn, Anwer said there had been an issue in just one match regarding the age of certain players of the zone’s under-19 team, including Zaryab, because of a medical test report”.

Anwer said also said that the test was later revoked and all players, including Zaryab, were granted clearance certificates. “Zaryab continued to play [for the team] thereafter,” Anwer was quoted as saying, adding that he was one of the best players of the team.

Anwer said that Zaryab chose to skip the last few matches himself because of food poisoning, adding there was no reason for them to drop a player who was winning them matches.