Former Afghanistan quick Shapoor Zadran battles for his life in Delhi hospital

Shapoor Zadran is suffering from Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare, life-threatening disease, in which the immune system starts failing

Nagraj Gollapudi

Published: Apr 20, 2026, 8:02 AM (3 hrs ago)

Former Afghanistan left-arm fast bowler Shapoor Zadran is suffering from Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare, life-threatening disease, in which the immune system starts failing. Shapoor, who will turn 39 in July, has an advance form of HLH and is currently battling for life in the intensive care unit of a New Delhi hospital, where he travelled to in January.

Standing tall at 6'2" with a broad frame and distinctive flowing hair, Shapoor was a presence on the cricket field when he ran in to bowl. Today, though, he lies curled up in an ICU fighting stage four HLH, which predominantly occurs in children, but can also inflict adults who are susceptible to infection or have had cancer. The patient suffers hyper inflammation, which is triggered by an overactive immune system leading to damages to the body's tissues including the bone marrow, liver, spleen and lymph nodes.

Shapoor, who played 80 internationals (44 ODIs and 36 T20Is) for Afghanistan between 2009 and 2020, first felt unwell last October, his younger brother Ghamai Zadran said. The doctors in Afghanistan asked him to go India for treatment.

Shapoor got his Indian visa fast-tracked after Rashid Khan and Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chairman Mirwais Ashraf sought help from their contacts in India, Ghamai said. While Ashraf spoke to ICC chairman Jay Shah, Rashid reached out to his contacts in the franchise circuit - he plays for Gujarat Titans in the IPL and Mumbai Indians-owned teams in several other leagues. Shapoor reached India on January 18 and was admitted to the hospital.

Shapoor was accompanied by his wife and former Afghanistan teammate Asghar Afghan. Ghamai, who lives in Canada, joined his brother on January 26.

"It was a very serious infection," Ghamar told ESPNcricinfo. "His whole body was full of the infection including TB (tuberculosis). It also spread to his brain, which was revealed after MRI and CT scan."

Ghamai said Shapoor had started to respond to the treatment and, after a few weeks, he was discharged from the hospital and the group moved to a hotel nearby.

"The doctor said we could drop in for the check-ups frequently," Ghamai said. "He [Shapoor] was feeling good for about 20 days before he got the infection again. Then we admitted him to the hospital [again]."

Shapoor was discharged again after 20-odd days. But then he complained of an stomach upset, so Ghamai brought Shapoor to the hospital once more, and things got worse. "He started getting a fever and then he tested positive for dengue. His immunity was very weak as the red blood cell count depleted severely."

Around March 26, during the Ramadan month, Shapoor underwent a bone-marrow test, which revealed he was in Stage Four of HLH.

Ghamai, who was a batter who even played for Afghanistan A, said the cricket community back home had extended its support fully. Asghar, Ghamai said, has gone out of his way to help Shapoor - from travelling with him in January, to spending days and nights in the hospital - and had been shuttling between Dubai, where he lives, and Delhi.

Rashid, too, has been monitoring the situation all along, and visited Shapoor during the T20 World Cup earlier this year apart from speaking to doctors, both in Delhi and at a renowned hospital in Mumbai.

On April 3, Afghanistan spinner AM Ghazanfar, too, visited Shapoor when he was meeting visitors. Ghazanfar, who plays for Mumbai Indians, was in Delhi for the IPL match against Delhi Capitals and met Shapoor, and has stayed in touch with Ghamai since then. Afghanistan ODI captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is among the other Afghanistan players who have called to check on Shapoor's condition. Ashraf, the ACB chairman, visited the hospital on Sunday to meet Shapoor. Shapoor's contemporaries from other countries, too, have called Ghamai, including Shahid Afridi. Ghamai said former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai is scheduled to call on Shapoor on Monday.

At the moment, Shapoor barely speaks and sleeps a lot, Ghamai said. He has also lost about 14 kilograms, moving down to about 84kg from the 98kg he was at when he was admitted for the second time. "He doesn't have much vitality."

Shapoor is the eldest of the Zadran siblings - four brothers and six sisters - and has been the head of the family for a while. "We have hope that he will improve day by day," Ghamai said. "The steroids Shapoor has been given recently seem to be working and that has given us hope."

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo

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