'Don't need financial support, just prayers': Shapoor Zadran's fight for life in India

NEW DELHI: It was India's opening match in the 2012 T20 World Cup. A star-studded line-up brimming with confidence on the back of a historic ODI World Cup victory in 2011, they were pitted against an Afghanistan side still trying to figure out the whims and fancies of ICC events, with this being their second appearance in World Cups.

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were the openers as India were asked to bat first by then-Afghan skipper Nawroz Mangal. Facing a bowler of 6 ft 2.5 in stature is always a formidable task. Ask Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag even today, and they’ll remember the name of Shapoor Zadran and how he blew the pair away in his opening spell of the World Cup, dismissing them for just 10 and 8 runs.

That well-built left-arm pacer is now bed-ridden, battling for his life in India.

Shapoor Zadran suffering from rare disease

The man who once sprinted to the crease with flowing hair and a menacing left-arm angle is now grappling with an enemy that cannot be caught behind the stumps. Shapoor, who will turn 39 this July, is suffering from Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

It is a rare and life-threatening condition where the immune system essentially turns on itself. Instead of protecting the body, the immune system begins to attack healthy tissues and organs, leading to hyper-inflammation and severe damage to the bone marrow, liver, and spleen.

While the disease predominantly strikes children, it can inflict adults susceptible to severe infection. Shapoor, who played 80 internationals for his country between 2009 and 2020, first felt unwell in October last year. What started as TB and a full-body infection eventually revealed its true, more sinister stage four HLH.

The treatment leading to Delhi

When the condition worsened, the medical advice in Kabul became unanimous. "Our doctor in Afghanistan advised us to come to India. Everyone said the treatment here is very good, and the whole world knows that India has some of the best medical care. That’s why we came," Shapoor’s younger brother, Ghamai Zadran, told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive conversation.

Getting him to the right facility was a collective effort. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chairman Mirwais Ashraf and cricketer Rashid Khan used his extensive network to fast-track the process.