Shapoor Zadran, one of the faces of Afghanistan cricket during their rise to the international level, is in urgent need of A+ (A Positive) blood, his family said on Wednesday. Former left-handed pacemaker Zadran suffers from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare and life-threatening immune disorder.
The 38-year-old man is currently admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a New Delhi hospital, where he has been undergoing treatment since January. According to Shapoor’s brother Ghamai, his health condition was first detected last October.
On the medical advice of doctors in Kabul, Shapoor was flown to India on January 18 for specialized treatment and has since been admitted to the ICU. According to Ghamaie, Shapoor initially showed improvement for about 20 days, but his condition deteriorated again due to a recurring infection.
Shapoor was released after about 20 days, but soon developed stomach problems. Ghamai took him back to the hospital, where his condition worsened. It was around March 26 that Shapoor underwent a bone marrow test that revealed he was in stage four of HLH.
talk to mint alive on Wednesday, Ghamai said Shapoor called for help from A+ blood donors. “He needs A+ blood, not from any blood bank but fresh. The request is that if there are any brothers in the New Delhi area, come and help my brother,” Ghamai said over the phone.
“After the blood samples are taken, it will be tested. Once it passes, the collected blood will be directly infused into Shapoor’s body. Blood bank supplies will not work as Shapoor needs platelets,” he added.
Shapoor’s family believes in a hospital in Delhi
Asked if they were planning to shift Shapoor to a dough-making facility in the country, Ghamai revealed that he had turned down an offer to treat his brother at Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. “Mumbai Indians spinner Allah Ghazanfar visited Shapoor for two days when he was in Delhi for the IPL,” Ghamai said.
“He was in constant touch with me. Other players were also in touch with me. Ghazanfar even tried to talk to Ambani Hospital but Shapoor Hospital is in (Delhi), it is the best for him,” he added.
The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan were always in constant touch with Ghamai.
International career of Shapoor Zadran
Shapoor comes with a generation of cricketers from Afghanistan who gave the country its first identity on the world stage. In fact, he was one of the faces that carried, played a huge role in Afghanistan’s rise from an associate nation to a world battler. After making his international debut in 2009, Shapoor was part of Afghanistan’s first ever T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup squads in 2010 and 2015.
The highlight of Shapoor’s career came during the 2015 ODI World Cup when Afghanistan defeated Scotland by one wicket in Dunedin to claim their first ever World Cup victory. Shapoor was in the middle as Afghanistan completed the historic chase. He played a total of 44 ODIs and 36 T20Is for Afghanistan between 2009 and 2020.
