Financial inability to treat his illness has left Aslam Shaikh—who has been a popular cricketer in the maidans of Mumbai—bedridden.
Shaikh, a pace bowling all-rounder, who earned his bread and butter by playing local club cricket matches as a professional, has been suffering from a nerve related disease for the past three years but couldn’t afford treatment. In the last few weeks, his health has deteriorated further and has stopped consuming food.
Over the last couple of days, local cricketers have started crowdfunding to raise money for his treatment, which will cost around Rs. 5-7 lakh. Sham Wagle, a former local cricketer who has good contacts in the city’s medical fraternity, has been at the forefront for raising funds for Shaikh.
“He (Shaikh) was a very big player on the local circuit and it’s our duty to do whatever we can as a cricket fraternity for him. I have given his case papers to renowned orthopaedist and Padma Bhusan Nandakishore Laud. Once he studies the case history, he will guide us regarding the future course of treatment. We will soon raise the funds and start his treatment,” said Wagle, who owns a transport business.
Shaikh, the 47-year-old all-rounder, played almost three decades on the local circuit, representing top teams like Varun Shipping, Rizvi Builders, Sungrace Mafatlal, Akbar Travels and Volkswagen in the Times Shield. He regularly featured in the Kanga League as well, representing ‘A’ Division clubs like Cricket Club of India, Young Friends, Apollo CC and Muslim United.
Since the news broke out about his health, morale-boosting messages have poured in for Shaikh, among them being video clips of former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower.
Both came to know about his health issues through T10 League team Maratha Arabians’ manager Abdul Latif, who is a good friend of Shaikh. Ahmed was the coach of Deccan Gladiators in the UAE-based league while Flower guided the Arabians.