New Delhi | Former Afghanistan pacer Shapoor Zadran is battling for his life after being diagnosed with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare and life-threatening disease.

The 38-year-old left-arm pacer is currently admitted to the intensive care unit of a New Delhi hospital, where he has been undergoing treatment since January.

HLH, which mainly affects children, is a condition in which the immune system becomes severely impaired. The patient suffers from hyperinflammation triggered by an overactive immune response, leading to damage to the body's tissues, including the bone marrow, liver, spleen and lymph nodes.

His younger brother, Ghamai Zadran, said Shapoor first felt unwell last October, and doctors in Afghanistan later advised him to travel to India for treatment.

"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." Shapoor initially responded well to treatment and was discharged from the hospital, but suffered a relapse after 20 days.

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

Shapoor has played 44 ODIs and 36 T20Is for Afghanistan between 2009 and 2020