Pataudi shifted to ICU

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Former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here following lung infection, has been shifted to the ICU.

Mansur Ali Khan continues to remain critically ill in the ICU. He is on a high level of oxygen support, requiring intermittent BIPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure). He is conscious and his cardiac function remains stable. He is being monitored very closely, a hospital bulletin said.

Pataudi is being observed closely by a team of pulmonologists and critical care specialists, it said.

70-year-old Pataudi, was admitted to the hospital last month end and has been diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, a condition in which the passage of oxygen to the lungs is less than normal.

"He is suffering from a disease which does not have proper or permanent cure. It takes time. The patient in such cases breathes out more of carbon dioxide," a doctor with the hospital said.

Sources said Pataudi's son, actor Saif Ali Khan, along with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor visited the ailing former cricketer at the hospital on Wednesday.

Pataudi, regarded as one of the finest Indian captains, played 46 Tests for the country, scoring 2793 runs at an average of 34.91 with an unbeaten 203 being his highest score. In all, he smashed six centuries and 16 fifties in his career.