Who Is Simi Singh, Ireland All-Rounder Battling For Life At Medanta Hospital In Gurgaon

Ireland all-rounder Simi Singh is facing his toughest battle in life but it is off the cricket field. The 37-year-old Punjab-born Irish cricketer is currently battling for life at Gurgaon’s Medanta Hospial due to acute liver failure.

According to a media report, Simi Singh is waiting for a liver transplant from his wife Agamdeep Kaur at the Gurgaon hospital. Simi has turned out in 35 ODIs and 53 T20I matches for Ireland. In ODIs, Simi Singh has scored 593 runs and picked up 39 wickets but he was the first cricketer to score a century in ODIs coming in at No. 8 in the batting order against South Africa in 2021.

In a TOI report, Simi’s father-in-law Parvinder Singh, who is part of the primary care-giving group for the cricketer, said, “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 was quoted as saying by TOI.

Simi decided to fly down to Mohali in late June this year and after a few consultations with various physicians his treatment started in PGI, Chandigarh in the beginning of July. “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,” Parvinder added.

 

Simi Singh pic.twitter.com/Zf7qsn51hr

— The Cricket Wire (@TheCricketWire) October 21, 2022

It was a return to Mohali after 19 years for Simi Singh, who left for Ireland to pursue hotel management back in 2005. In 2006, Simi joined the Malahide Cricket Club in Dublin as a professional. Simi had represented Punjab successfully at the U-14 and U-17 level, was known for his batting. In 2004, he scored 725 runs in the state inter-district U-17 championship. He was even named the best player at the 46th National School Games held in Vijayawada in 2001.

Simi became an overseas Pro for Old Belvedere. He got a work visa and took his first steps towards becoming eligible for Ireland. His first steps towards becoming Ireland’s first Asian-born cricketer to play at a World Cup.

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 family member was quoted as saying by TOI.