Bangladesh did well in the first half of their virtual semi-final against Pakistan in the Asia Cup but they were in for some bad news late on Wednesday. Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was forced to fly back home after the condition of his fractured finger worsened.
Shakib was keen on taking the field in the crunch match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, but the increased pain in his finger forced him to sit out.
Bangladesh Cricket Board's cricket operations chairman Akram Khan has now revealed that the veteran will be out of action for a lengthy period of time.
"He will be out for four to six weeks," Akram was quoted as saying by ESPN. "The pain had increased over the last few days and physio Thihan Chandramohan tried his best to get him on the field, but the pain was too much. I would like to thank Shakib for playing the first four matches with the pain he had."
Bangladesh manager Khaled Mahmud had already hinted that the condition of Shakib's injury wasn't encouraging. "He actually can't grip the bat. The report was not good," a report by The Daily Star quoted Mahmud as saying. "There has been inflammation of the finger [since he last played] and the pain has also increased."
Shakib has been dealing with this injury for a while now. He had sustained it in January this year during a tri-series final against Sri Lanka in Dhaka. Shakib, however, went on to play the Nidahas T20 Trophy in March, a T20I series against Afghanistan, and then every match during the tour of West Indies.
