Former Australian international cricketer Fawad Ahmed has revealed some heartbreaking family news, confirming the death of his infant son.

Melbourne-based Ahmed confirmed the four-month-old baby boy had died, in a social media post on Monday.

“Unfortunately, after a long struggle, my little man has lost the painful and tough fight. I believe you are in a better place; we will miss you so much,” he wrote.

“I hope no one ever goes through this pain.”

The little boy was the second child of Ahmed, 41, and his wife. He was born in June but had remained in the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne for months and endured a barrage of tests to try to find out why he was unwell.

Pakistani-born leg-spinner Ahmed came to Australia as an asylum seeker in 2010. He became a citizen in 2013, and played one-day and T20 internationals for Australia.

He revealed his newborn son’s health issues in September.

“It’s a tough time, to be honest,” he told the Cricket Australia website.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen. Neither do the doctors. It’s pretty bad. You want to know. This is something that is aching the heart.”

The infant, whose name has not been revealed, had been growing. After he reached three kilograms, he had surgery on his jaw to help with breathing issues.

But problems remained, and his eyesight became a concern.

Tweet from @bachaji23

“It’s something that’s so unexpected,” Ahmed said at the time.

“You’re excited, you’re happy about the birth of your child, and then suddenly you go to some dark places, and you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“Our lives have completely changed. Every morning, we just wake up and get ready to go to the hospital. Then in the evening, we come back. That’s it, nothing else.”

The baby was born as Ahmed and his family planned a move – to a house they intended to renovate for their growing family. Instead, they spent their time in hospital, bonding with their young son and speaking with medical staff.

Ahmed said his three-year-old daughter had been particularly hard hit by the family trauma.

“We don’t want to lose her while looking after the little fella. But it’s winter, such less time to go out … I don’t want her to get sick,” he said.

“We are trying, but it’s getting harder. This afternoon she just wanted to play outside, play soccer with me, but it was cold and windy, and we had to go to the hospital. She was so upset.

“I love her so much. She’s an absolute legend. She loves me as well, and it’s such a good feeling.”

In all, Ahmed made five international appearances for Australia in 2013.

He was also a spin consultant on last year’s Test tour of Pakistan.