LAHORE: Facing serious multiple health problems, former Test umpire Javed Akhtar has made a passionate appeal to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for added financial assistance.

Javed, who supervised 18 Tests and 40 ODIs between 1976 and 1999, told Dawn on Friday that since 2011 he had been facing kidney-related problems, adding he was undergoing dialysis treatment with financial help from the PCB.

But now, the 75-year-old Javed revealed, his health problems had compounded compelling him to confront a number of other illness including heart-related.

“For the last six months I have also been suffering from a mysterious fever. Now I can’t even stand on my feet, just lying on the bed,” Javed, who also played a Test match for Pakistan in 1962 at Headingley, said.

While thanking the PCB for its assistance, Javed said he required more help to meet his rising medical expenses.

“I am grateful to the PCB for taking care of me [for dialysis]. But I appeal to them for more help as it is becoming very tough for my family to further bear the mounting expenses of my medical treatment for such a long time,” Javed stated.

After his playing career ended early, Javed adopted umpiring as profession, supervising his first Test featuring Pakistan and Australia in 1980 at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2016