Former Afghanistan Cricketer Shapoor Zadran Faces Life-Threatening Illness

Shapoor Zadran's Health Crisis

Shapoor Zadran, the former Afghanistan fast bowler, is currently fighting for his life after being diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare and potentially fatal condition.

The 38-year-old left-arm bowler is receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in New Delhi, where he has been since January.

HLH primarily affects children and results in a severely compromised immune system. This condition leads to hyperinflammation due to an overactive immune response, causing damage to various body tissues, including the bone marrow, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes.

According to his younger brother, Ghamai Zadran, Shapoor began feeling unwell last October, prompting doctors in Afghanistan to recommend he seek treatment in India.

“It was a very serious infection,” Ghamai shared with a sports news outlet.

“His entire body was infected, including TB (tuberculosis), which also affected his brain, as revealed by MRI and CT scans.”

Initially, Shapoor showed improvement and was discharged from the hospital, but unfortunately, he experienced a relapse after 20 days.

“The doctor advised us to come in for regular check-ups. He (Shapoor) felt better for about 20 days before the infection returned, leading to his readmission,” Ghamai explained.

Throughout his career from 2009 to 2020, Shapoor represented Afghanistan in 44 ODIs and 36 T20Is.