On September 5, the Irish Cricket Board announced that allrounder Simi Singh is battling a life-threatening illness as a result of acute liver failure. The 37-year-old has played for Ireland in 35 ODIs and 53 T20Is, making his mark as a spin bowler and a lower-middle-order batsman.
After experiencing health issues in Ireland, Singh traveled back to his homeland, India, earlier this summer for medical care. As reported by The Times of India, Singh is presently receiving treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon and is awaiting a liver transplant. His wife, Agamdeep, has kindly agreed to donate a portion of her liver to aid in his recovery.
"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," the cricketer's father-in-law Parvinder Singh told.
"We have received shocking news that our friend Simi Singh is currently dealing with life-threatening health circumstances. On behalf of Cricket Ireland, and indeed the wider Irish cricket community, I would like to extend our best wishes and prayers to Simi as he takes on this new fight," Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom wrote in a statement.
"After moving to Ireland, Simi has become a central figure within Irish cricket – whether at international, provincial or club level – he has shown a desire and drive to succeed. We now hope that this same drive will see him come through the current circumstances," Deutrom further added.
The 37-year-old has an impressive record in ODIs, having taken 39 wickets with an average of 25.92 and a commendable economy rate of 3.99. In T20Is, he has secured 44 wickets at an average of 27.84, with an economy rate of 7.61. Singh’s most recent match for Ireland took place during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.