'We don't understand'

There was a demand for someone professional to speak about the current medical condition of Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's infected left hand for which he is currently undergoing treatment in Melbourne. Instead, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan held a lengthy press conference on the issue and by the end the picture seemed even murkier.

The one bit of actual news that seemed to emerge from the press conference at his residence yesterday was that Shakib evidently told Hassan on Monday that surgery was not needed on his left little finger. Shakib had however told reporters on Sunday that the pain would have to go down miraculously after the two-month medication for surgery to be avoided.

"He told me that the doctor prescribed three months of rest, and then he can play. I asked about the operation... that everyone is telling me that there is no use doing the surgery," Hassan said. "He also said the same, that there is no use doing the surgery. So the thing I heard at first still holds true."

A bit of background: Shakib injured his left little finger in January this year, resumed playing a month later in the Nidahas Trophy (a decision the president said yesterday was influenced by him depositing his passport for the IPL -- "If he had decided to play, why not play earlier?" Hassan queried), returned from the tour of West Indies in August and said that he would prefer to have surgery before the Asia Cup the following month. Hassan had then said that he would prefer that he had the surgery later. Shakib eventually played, and four matches into the tournament returned home with a swollen and infected left hand, which had to have around 60 milligrams of pus removed at a city hospital.

With the apparent mismanagement of Shakib's injury, there has been radio silence from BCB's medical staff and physio Thihan Chandramohan, who allowed him to keep playing in the Asia Cup. Hassan has filled the vacuum and, although his stated preference for Shakib to have the surgery after the Asia Cup is recorded fact, seemed to remember events a little differently. He recounted a tale of how Shakib consulted him in Makkah and Medina when both were performing Hajj in late August. The upshot of the nine-minute long story was that even after Shakib said that the physio gave him the go-ahead to play with the injury, Hassan had suggested that Shakib consult a doctor and take a decision.

The rest of it was an exposition of how clueless the BCB was about the injury and at times defensive utterances that shifted culpability from the president to Shakib. 

"We cannot understand how the infection had happened," Hassan said. "He received an injection on the West Indies tour, someone had suggested it -- we don't know who he asked about it and we don't know how it could have happened. No one is saying that it is because of that injection. If he had mild infection from before then the steroids may have aggravated it.

"We could have understood it if he had complained about pain after playing [during the Asia Cup] or if he got hurt while playing and aggravated it. Then you could have asked me why I asked him to play," Hassan said, ignoring the fact that Shakib had played numerous deliveries and stopped numerous balls with his hands while fielding.

"If for his satisfaction he wants to have surgery, he can do that."

Before joining the team for the Asia Cup, on September 5, Shakib had told The Daily Star that he was only 20-30 per cent fit and did not know of other big players who play with injuries like this.