Former Black Caps star Chris Cairns on life support in Australia

The 51-year-old suffered an aortic dissection in his heart in Canberra last week.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is severely ill in Australia.

Former Black Caps all-rounder Chris Cairns is on life support in Australia.

According to a report in Newshub, the 51-year-old suffered an aortic dissection in his heart in Canberra last week.

An aortic dissection is a medical condition caused by a tear in the inner layer of the body's main artery.

READ|

The veteran of 200 ODIs and 62 Tests had to undergo multiple operations. He will be transferred to a specialist hospital in Sydney soon.

Cairns has been one of the finest all-rounders of the game, with 3,320 Test runs and 218 wickets. In ODIs, he picked up 201 wickets besides scoring 4,950 runs.

In 2008, Cairns got involved in a match-fixing controversy as captain of the Chandigarh Lions in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League. He had to fight legal battles to clear his name.

His father, Lance, also represented New Zealand in cricket.