Former Zimbabwe all-rounder Heath Streak has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment in South Africa.

The 49-year-old played 65 Tests and 189 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1993-2005, scoring a total of 4,933 runs and claiming 455 wickets across the two formats.

“Heath has cancer and is undergoing treatment under one of the most respected oncologists in South Africa,” his family said in a statement.

“Heath remains in good spirits and will continue to fight this disease in a similar vein with which he faced his opponents during his playing days on the cricket field.”

“The family hopes that you understand and respect their wish for this to remain a private family matter, and they wish to thank you for your prayers and good wishes.”

The statement comes after media reports suggesting that Streak was critically ill and reportedly on his deathbed.

Streak led Zimbabwe in the 2000s, during a difficult period when many established players withdrew from the national side following differences the Board, before resigning in 2004 after a clash with the board.

A year later he retired from international cricket at the age of 31.

Streak is still the only Zimbabwe bowler with more than 100 Test wickets and over 200 ODI wickets.

After retirement, he served as the bowling coach of IPL sides Kolkata Knight Riders and the now-defunct Gujarat Lions, Bangladesh and Somerset.

He also worked as a consultant for the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association academy.

In 2021, he was banned for eight years from all cricket after he accepted five charges of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code, including disclosing inside information and facilitating corrupt approaches.

However, he later said he was not involved in any attempts to fix matches.

Written with inputs from PTI