India-born Ireland player waiting to undergo transplant in Gurugram for ‘acute liver failure‘
NEW DELHI: Ireland’s top allrounder Simranjit Singh a.k.a. Simi Singh is battling for his life. The cricketer is suffering from acute liver failure and is currently in the ICU of Medanta, Gurugram. The off-spinning middle-order batsman is waiting for a liver transplant to be performed at the hospital.
Simi was born in Mohali, Punjab, and represented Punjab successfully at the U-14 and U-17 level but failed to make the cut at the U-19 level. He packed his bags for Ireland in 2005 to pursue hotel management. Little did Simi know that cricket would follow him to Ireland as well. In 2006, he joined Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin as a professional.
Simi’s father-in-law Parvinder Singh, who is part of the primary care-giving group for the cricketer, told TOI about his condition. “Some five-six months back, when he was in Dublin, Ireland, Simi developed a strange kind of fever which kept coming and going. He got himself examined there, but nothing conclusive came out in the check-ups. The medical professionals there said that they couldn’t find the underlying cause and therefore they wouldn’t start medication,” Parvinder said, while narrating the family’s ordeal.
“The process was getting delayed and Simi’s health was deteriorating, so we decided to get him treated in India for ‘better medical attention’. Simi flew to Mohali in late June, and after a few consultations with various physicians his treatment started in PGI, Chandigarh in the beginning of July. There the line of treatment was taken for TB (tuberculosis) and antibiotics were given to him. Later, results came out that he didn’t have TB.
“As his fever didn’t subside, we took him to a private hospital in Mohali for a second opinion. There, we were told that Simi didn’t have TB, but the course of the medicines – six weeks – had to be completed. Along with the TB medicines, steroids were also given to him. After that, his fever started increasing again and he developed acute jaundice. In the last week of August, we took him back to PGI where he was admitted to the ICU.
But his health kept deteriorating and the PGI physicians detected that he had developed acute liver failure. They advised us to take Simi to Medanta, Gurugram, because there was a high probability of him slipping into coma after which a transplant wouldn’t be possible. We came to Medanta on September 3.”
Simi is now waiting for a liver transplant to be performed at Medanta. His wife Agamdeep Kaur, a working professional in Dublin, has agreed to donate a part of her liver.
“Thankfully, Simi’s blood group is AB+ which means he is a universal receiver. The doctors say that matching with his wife won’t be a problem. The transplant is likely to be performed very soon, and the doctors are positive that the outcome will be in Simi’s favour and will give him a new lease of life,” a close family member said.
Simi has been one of Ireland’s leading cricketers in recent times. The 37-year-old has played 35 One-Day Internationals and 53 T20 Internationals for Ireland following his debut in 2017. He has 39 ODI wickets, including the best figures of 5/10, and 44 T20I wickets to his name.
With the bat, he has an ODI century against South Africa to his credit against a bowling attack comprising the likes of Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland, the first time contracts were awarded by the association on a full-time basis.
NEW DELHI: Ireland’s top allrounder Simranjit Singh a.k.a. Simi Singh is battling for his life. The cricketer is suffering from acute liver failure and is currently in the ICU of Medanta, Gurugram. The off-spinning middle-order batsman is waiting for a liver transplant to be performed at the hospital.
Simi was born in Mohali, Punjab, and represented Punjab successfully at the U-14 and U-17 level but failed to make the cut at the U-19 level. He packed his bags for Ireland in 2005 to pursue hotel management. Little did Simi know that cricket would follow him to Ireland as well. In 2006, he joined Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin as a professional.
Simi’s father-in-law Parvinder Singh, who is part of the primary care-giving group for the cricketer, told TOI about his condition. “Some five-six months back, when he was in Dublin, Ireland, Simi developed a strange kind of fever which kept coming and going. He got himself examined there, but nothing conclusive came out in the check-ups. The medical professionals there said that they couldn’t find the underlying cause and therefore they wouldn’t start medication,” Parvinder said, while narrating the family’s ordeal.
“The process was getting delayed and Simi’s health was deteriorating, so we decided to get him treated in India for ‘better medical attention’. Simi flew to Mohali in late June, and after a few consultations with various physicians his treatment started in PGI, Chandigarh in the beginning of July. There the line of treatment was taken for TB (tuberculosis) and antibiotics were given to him. Later, results came out that he didn’t have TB.
“As his fever didn’t subside, we took him to a private hospital in Mohali for a second opinion. There, we were told that Simi didn’t have TB, but the course of the medicines – six weeks – had to be completed. Along with the TB medicines, steroids were also given to him. After that, his fever started increasing again and he developed acute jaundice. In the last week of August, we took him back to PGI where he was admitted to the ICU.
But his health kept deteriorating and the PGI physicians detected that he had developed acute liver failure. They advised us to take Simi to Medanta, Gurugram, because there was a high probability of him slipping into coma after which a transplant wouldn’t be possible. We came to Medanta on September 3.”
Simi is now waiting for a liver transplant to be performed at Medanta. His wife Agamdeep Kaur, a working professional in Dublin, has agreed to donate a part of her liver.
“Thankfully, Simi’s blood group is AB+ which means he is a universal receiver. The doctors say that matching with his wife won’t be a problem. The transplant is likely to be performed very soon, and the doctors are positive that the outcome will be in Simi’s favour and will give him a new lease of life,” a close family member said.
Simi has been one of Ireland’s leading cricketers in recent times. The 37-year-old has played 35 One-Day Internationals and 53 T20 Internationals for Ireland following his debut in 2017. He has 39 ODI wickets, including the best figures of 5/10, and 44 T20I wickets to his name.
With the bat, he has an ODI century against South Africa to his credit against a bowling attack comprising the likes of Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.
In January 2020, he was one of nineteen players to be awarded a central contract from Cricket Ireland, the first time contracts were awarded by the association on a full-time basis.