Tamim lauds Shakib, Mushfiqur for battling through injury

Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal returned to Dhaka today and said that it would not do him good to dwell on the disappointment of returning from the Asia Cup while also reiterating that playing with injury is part of the game but lauded the efforts of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim for performing through the pain.

Mushfiqur had a rib pain even before the start of the match against Sri Lanka but went on to play the best ODI innings of his life.

"See, Mushfiqur scored 144 while carrying an injury. I hope he will hit another hundred even with injury. We know that Shakib's hand has been problematic for a while now but he has performed really well while carrying that injury during the tour of West Indies."

He repeated that injuries are part and parcel of a player's life and opined that when a player decides to take the field he thinks everything through, knowing the repercussions of not performing and aggravating an injury.

"I know what Mushfiq and Shakib's injuries are. What they are doing just shows how dedicated they are and also their sense of responsibility," the opener said.

Tamim had been in fantastic touch during the West Indies series and is disappointed that he could not play a big hand in a major tournament such as the Asia Cup. He revealed that they would have to wait to see how the injury heals before deciding whether surgery is needed.

"I had very high hopes in Asia Cup. Unfortunately I had to return owing to the injury but it will do me no good to dwell on it."

"Doctor from England gave an update saying that surgery won't be required at the moment. The first week is critical since after that another X-Ray will be done and if that reveals that the injury is healing properly then it's fine but if it heals haphazardly then surgery might be required," Tamim concluded.