Cricketer Cameron Green Reveals About His Chronic Kidney Disease

Australia’s star all-rounder Cameron Green has revealed that he has been battling chronic kidney disease since birth on Thursday. He said that the condition was identified during his mother Bee Tracey’s 19-week pregnancy scan. Green’s father Gary, who played an important role in shaping his cricket career, shared that there were initial concerns about whether Green would survive beyond 12.

Cameron Green has been part of the Australia squad across all formats since last year, making his T20I debut in 2022. He was also a player of the ODI World Cup 2023 winning team last month in India. He is currently playing the Australian Test series against Pakistan but remains on the bench for the opening match in Perth.

“My parents got told when I was born that I had chronic kidney disease,” Green told Channel 7. “There’s no symptoms, it was just picked up through ultrasounds”.

“Chronic kidney disease is a progressive disease of your kidney’s health function. Unfortunately, mine doesn’t filter the blood as well as other kidneys. They’re at about 60% at the moment which is stage two.”

Cameron Green has chronic kidney disease.

There are five stages to it, with the fifth stage requiring a transplant or dialysis.

This is how Green – currently at stage two – manages the condition every day… pic.twitter.com/ikbIntapdy

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 14, 2023

Green said that he has effectively handled his disease throughout his cricket career, with only one incident during the ODI against New Zealand in Cairns last year causing concern. He endured severe cramping while batting in the game, as he scored 89 after bowling five overs in Australia’s win.

Cameron mentioned that the cramping resulted from insufficient intake of liquid supplements, although the underlying cause was primarily linked to his kidney problems.

“I think it was pretty well documented that I had a pretty long day of bowling and a pretty long bat as well, and then had a cramping episode,” Green said. “It took me a long time to realise that it was probably my kidney function that was affecting my cramping.”

“I always thought I didn’t drink enough, didn’t eat enough, didn’t look after myself during the game as well as I could have, but I think over time I realised that I was doing absolutely everything right, but I was still cramping, unfortunately.”

The 24-year-old has emerged as a crucial player for the Australian team in all 3 formats. However, he has experienced a decline in his performance and popularity in recent months. Green mentioned that the blood filtering capacity of his kidney function is currently at around 60%.

“I consider myself very lucky that I’m not as affected physically by chronic kidney disease as other people who are affected by the same thing.

“With chronic kidney disease, there are five stages, with stage one being the least severe, and stage five being transplant or dialysis. Fortunately, I’m stage two, but if you don’t look after them enough, it goes back down.

“Kidneys can’t get better. It’s irreversible. So anything you can do to slow the progression, you try and do,” stated Green.

Green was excluded from the Perth squad in favour of Mitchell Marsh. He announced his condition publicity to raise awareness about the disease. He has an impressive career so far, with IPL, and BLL. Green was traded to RCB from MI ahead of the IPL 2024 mini-auction.