Sports Desk:

Bangladesh ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan appears to be suffering from a finger issue and has been bowling less than usual as a result of it in the ongoing Test match against India in Chennai.

Shakib bowled just eight overs in the first innings, going for 50 runs. He bowled 13 overs in the second innings and remained wicket-less in Chennai.

Surprisingly, Shakib bowled a lot of overs in his lone match for Surrey in the English County Championship. He grabbed nine wickets and bowled 33.5 overs in the first innings and then 29.3 overs in the second innings when he bagged a five-for, conceding 96.

Former India spinner and commentator with Star Sports Murali Karthik, who was seen chatting with Shakib before day three’s play, highlighted the issue of why Shakib bowled way less than usual.

“Having seen him and known him for such a long period of time, I did go up to him and ask the reason why he has not bowled enough. And the thing which he said to me is something I completely resonate with.

“He’s had a finger surgery on his bowling finger which is the point of his finger of his left hand. It is swollen, it is rigid, there’s no movement no suppleness to it. So he feels he is not getting any feeling out of it.

“As a spinner you need the feeling. Also he is having issues with his shoulder so it’s a combination of both and it’s tough to bowl in Test cricket where you need that feel as a spinner,” he said during his commentary stint Saturday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashis Chowdhury confirmed that Shakib has been carrying an injury from the Sri Lanka match at the ICC ODI World Cup in India last year. After being hit while batting, he continued to bat with taping and painkillers. X-Rays later revealed he had a fracture.

Debashis informed that Shakib has not complained about the injury recently.

“He had an earlier injury during Asia Cup [2018]. He had later suffered another injury to his index finger in India during the World Cup and had to rest for a month,” Debashish told The Daily Star today.

“But he has not complained about his finger to us. Definitely there is a fracture there and he went to the USA after with strapping on his fingers. Even in the T20 World Cup, he did not complain of finger issues. Of course, he has not undergone another surgery but there was one during that Asia Cup [2018].

“He did not need operative management after the injury in Delhi [2023 ODI World Cup]. It may be that this time he is feeling some discomfort but he didn’t complain about his finger. As we know, if a finger is fractured, it is never the same again.

“He is managing through the injury and doesn’t mean there is no discomfort there now, there could be,” Debashish added.