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Former Afghanistan pacer Shapoor Zadran is in hospital fighting for his life after he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive disease - Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).The 38-year-old will be turning 39 in July and he is in the Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in New Delhi. It is understood he is at stage four of the disease.

The former Afghanistan speedster played 80 international matches for his country between 2009 and 2020. The now 38-year-old has always cut an imposing figure on the cricket field, but he is now in an intense battle for his health. HLH is a condition in which a person's immune system goes haywire and starts destroying their body. The disease can cause damage to the liver, bone marrow and the brain and it is considered fatal.

According to his younger brother Ghamai Zadran, Shapoor fell ill in October last year and was advised immediate treatment in India by doctors back in Afghanistan. Following intervention from Rashid Khan and chairman of Afghanistan Cricket Board Mirwais Ashraf, his visa procedure was sped up. Ashraf apparently spoke to Jay Shah while Rashid used his contacts through franchise cricket.

Shapoor arrived in India on January 18 and was rushed to a hospital in Delhi.

His brother Ghamai said Shapoor had a bad infection which reached the rest of the body. This spread to his liver, bone marrow and brain; it was even tuberculosis, he stated. He recovered well after treatment and was released, but his condition became worse.

To ESPNcricinfo, Ghamar said:

"It was a very serious infection. 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."

In spite of returning to the hospital on numerous occasions, Shapoor also tested positive to dengue which in return further reduced his already-lowered immunity. Approximately around March 26, during the holy month of Ramadan, his bone marrow test indicated that Shapoor had achieved the fourth stage of HLH.

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Shapoor has not been isolated in this long battle; the former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan has stayed by his side traveling from Dubai to Delhi to visit Shapoor, while many other cricket players as well as officials like AM Ghazanfar, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Shahid Afridi have remained in constant touch. Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai is also supposed to be inquiring about his condition.

Currently, Shapoor is hardly able to speak, spends the whole day resting as his body weight has fallen to almost 14kg. His body is really very weak. Yet his family is in constant hope.

Ghamar said:

"We have hope that he will improve day by day. The steroids Shapoor has been given recently seem to be working and that has given us hope."