Why keep waiting?

It is a twist of fate that two different Asia Cups have been witness to two stages in Bangladesh's evolution. Along with evolution, of course, comes growth amid turmoil and Bangladesh have had much of both in the 2012 tournament and the ongoing one in the UAE where they will contest for the trophy against overwhelming favourites India.

In 2012, Bangladesh were rank outsiders but they surprised all pre-tournament forecasts by outclassing both Sri Lanka and India before enduring the heartbreak of losing the final by a mere two runs against Pakistan. 'So near, yet so far' was the soundtrack of heartbreak then, but years later cricketers and fans alike look back at that tournament wistfully as the point where Bangladesh cricket matured into a force to be reckoned with.

Six years later, however, it is a different evolution but it has come with the same growing pains. For long, even after their previous step up, the Tigers had been a team that could come up with stellar performances but tended to lose the plot when there were setbacks. And it was a certain kind of setback that hurt them the most: a loss of form or absence of one or more of the five cricketers who have thus far lifted Bangladesh to its greatest heights: skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad. Incidentally, all of these cricketers were part of their first real ascension to cricketing prominence in 2012.

Now, however, the two cricketers from that bunch who have done more than any other to change perceptions and expectations of Bangladesh cricket -- Tamim and Shakib -- are out of the Asia Cup with injuries. In 2012, Shakib was the player of the series and Tamim had hit four consecutive half-centuries.

With Tamim already having flown home on September 18 with a fracture to his left hand, Shakib's absence was a shock to the team on the morning of their virtual semifinal against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Yet, just as the team had somehow found a way to win Sunday's match against Afghanistan without Tamim to stay in contention for the final, they roared into the final with a bowling and fielding performance worthy of Tigers against Pakistan to win by 37 runs around the time that Shakib was unpacking his bags in Dhaka.

"Both tournaments have their separate respect and value. In 2012 we could not win anything, we won rarely," said Mashrafe in the pre-final press conference at the hotel yesterday, a rest day after the exertions of the Pakistan match in the searing heat. "We won against big teams on the odd day. Now we were at a stage that whenever we won big matches, our best performers were Shakib, Tamim and Mushfiqur on most occasions. Mustafizur [Rahman] too. But to come to this stage without our two best players is a big achievement. The boys can feel proud of it, but there is still one match, if they can give their best shot I hope it will be a good match."

It was not too long ago that this was not the case. In South Africa last October Bangladesh surrendered without a whimper without Shakib in the Tests, and in the ODIs without Tamim in the last two matches. In the home tri-series final against Sri Lanka in January, they lost the plot after Shakib left the field with injury -- the same one to the left little finger that requires surgery now -- and succumbed to defeat not just in that match but in the following Test and T20I series.

Evolution, of course, retains the toughest and best bits from the past and Bangladesh have retained the toughest component in the skipper, who has inspired the team with bold decisions throughout the tournament, and the masterful Mushfiqur -- whose batting throughout has compensated for top-order failures. Regardless of who wins today, Bangladesh will be richer for having evolved into a team that can overcome the harshest setbacks and come out on top.

An already unlucky Asia Cup went from bad to worse for Bangladesh as before the most important match, yesterday's virtual semifinal against Pakistan, trump card Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of the tournament. That meant that Bangladesh, already without Tamim Iqbal because of a left-hand fracture sustained in the first game, were in crisis mode. However, this crisis could have been avoided and that it was not is the equivalent of a man beneath a window watching a falling safe and hoping that gravity will suddenly change its laws.

Shakib's injury to his left little finger, which saw him return to Dhaka yesterday and likely to fly off for either Melbourne or New York for surgery, was sustained in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka at home on January 27. He was ruled out of the subsequent Test and T20I series and was only brought back in March for the crunch Nidahas Trophy game against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

He then played the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in June and starred on the full tour of West Indies with the bat. But upon returning from the tour, Shakib expressed a desire to have the surgery as soon as possible.

"I think it [surgery] should be done because I don't want to play without being fully fit. So, if I think along those lines then having surgery before the Asia Cup is normal. Most probably it will take place before the Asia Cup," said Shakib at the airport on August 9.

However, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said on that very day that he could not imagine playing the Asia Cup without Shakib, even though new coach Steve Rhodes was also of the opinion that Shakib should go under the knife before the Asia Cup.

"I said it would be better to do it before the Zimbabwe series," Hassan said. "The Asia Cup this time is already tough and it will be a psychological disadvantage if Shakib is not there. We will sit with Shakib and discuss everything soon."

After discussion, Hassan had said it was up to Shakib the BCB boss already having made his preference known perhaps put Shakib in a false position. He still said that he was finding it difficult to bat. And that showed in scores of 0, 17, 32 and 0 in the first four matches of the Asia Cup. Shakib never looked comfortable with bat in hand and the continued exposure of the finger led to him not even being able to grip the bat before the Pakistan match.

"Let's see when I go there -- if things don't look good I might go straight for surgery from there," Shakib said with a chuckle in an interview with The Daily Star on September 5. It does not seem so funny now.

If the BCB had taken the word of a player of Shakib's calibre and allowed him to do what his body needed, then Bangladesh could have planned for the Asia Cup without Shakib. Instead, at the most important juncture of a tournament, they are basically in a state of emergency. It has to be wondered what psychological effect that has had.  

Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan is currently lying with his left arm in a sling in Apollo Hospital. By the time he had come back from the Asia Cup in the UAE on Wednesday, unable to even grip a bat after batting and bowling in four games, his left little finger had swollen to twice its size. Shakib picked up the injury in a match against Sri Lanka in January this year, and wanted to have surgery before the Asia Cup. He was however not allowed to do so despite publicly stating his intentions.

On Wednesday he wanted to fly to either New York or Melbourne for surgery as quickly as possible, but such was the severity of his condition that doctors barred him from flying. He had to be admitted to hospital and have a substantial amount of pus removed from his infected finger and cannot depart until the infection has subsided.

The following is a timeline of how things got to this stage:

January 27, 2018, Dhaka: In the tri-series final against Sri Lanka, Shakib's dive to stop a single resulted in him dislocating his left little finger upon impact with the ground. Immediately attended by the team physio, Shakib was rushed to Apollo hospital for further treatment and played no further part in the 79-run defeat.

"The X-ray did not reveal any fracture. However, there is subluxation or a joint sprain at the base of the little finger on his left hand. He has been assessed by a cosmetic surgeon and necessary repairs have been done. The affected finger will have to be immobilised for at least a week before further assessment is made."-- Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashish Chowdhury. Shakib missed the following Test and T20I series.

March 15, 2018, Colombo: "He is on his way here. He will have to be assessed. We will have a look at him to see if he is fit enough to play. And if he is then obviously with someone of his class and calibre they would make it into the side." -- Acting Bangladesh coach Courtney Walsh. Shakib played the last two matches of the Nidahas Trophy.

August 9, 2018, Dhaka: "I feel the sooner the surgery is done, the better. I think it should be done because I don't want to play without being fully fit. So, if I think along those lines then having surgery before the Asia Cup is normal. Most probably it will take place before the Asia Cup," -- Shakib upon his arrival to Dhaka after a month long tour of the West Indies.

"The operation will most probably take place in Australia under Hoy's guidance. As far as I know, Shakib is going to perform Hajj. He can do it before Hajj but once again nothing is confirmed yet."-- Chowdhury

"Coach Steve Rhodes preferred the surgery before the Asia Cup, but when I met with him today, I said it would be better to do it before the Zimbabwe series. The Asia Cup this time is already tough and it will be a psychological disadvantage if Shakib is not there. I can't imagine playing the Asia Cup without him. We will sit with Shakib and discuss everything soon."-- BCB president Nazmul Hassan

August 15, 2018, Dhaka: "Shakib rang me before leaving [for Hajj] and asked me what he should do. I just told him that if you have pain and feel that it will create problems, then you take the decision about the surgery and I also told him that if you feel it will be possible for you to play the Asia Cup then you do it after the tournament. It will good for the team and it is you who has to take the decision." -- Hassan

September 28, 2018, Dhaka: "When I left my team and returned home because of the pain in my hand, I did not understand that I would face such a bad situation. After coming back home, because of intense pain and my hand swelling alarmingly I had to be admitted to hospital and have a surgery. Around 60-70 milligrams of pus was extracted from my finger. Thanks to your prayers, I was saved from a major misfortune. I will have to have another surgery very quickly.

"I request you to keep praying for me. Your prayers and love will help me recover quickly and represent Bangladesh. Thank you."-- Shakib, in a Facebook post.

It was learnt that Shakib's finger was indeed in a critical stage. Doctors have said that if the pus was not removed in time, it was no longer a question of his career but the continued use of his hand. Even if that is an exaggeration, the bare facts reveal that things had gotten to the stage where an emergency procedure was needed -- even though Shakib was desperate to have surgery abroad as soon as possible, he had to have it in Dhaka.

Now, although the left-armer is out of that kind of danger, he may be out of action for up to three months.

As has happened before, a player's health became secondary to the short-term need of the team, regardless of the long-term dangers to the individual. A board is supposed to be structured so that these eventualities can be dealt with professionally and such desperate decisions as forcing a player to play against his will are avoided. Instead, the president himself publicly urged the player to play, hijacking the function of the medical team.

Given that the infection did not happen overnight but rather built through the Asia Cup, it has to be asked how team physio Thihan Chandramohan had allowed Shakib to keep playing and if the eventual result was this. And, if something untoward does happen -- many will say it has already -- will the president answer for sending Shakib to play in the first place?

Even as everyone who witnessed the match were saying that beating Pakistan with the odds firmly stacked against Bangladesh was one of the country's better cricketing achievements, player-of-the-match Mushfiqur Rahim insisted that it was just another match for them. 

"It's just another game of cricket. It's nothing special to play against Pakistan or any team," said Musfiqur after the 37-run win in their Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi. "I think Afghanistan are a great team and also Sri Lanka, although they lost both their matches and they were knocked out from the group stage. But I still think they are a dangerous team because in January they beat us in our backyard. 

"You can't take any team for granted. It was just another game and we treated it like that. All the guys were spirited because it was a great chance to get to the final and hopefully we can make it to number one and end up winning."

When reminded that Bangladesh were without the injured stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and still ended up winning against more-fancied opposition, Mushfiqur – who scored 99 in Bangladesh's 239 all out -- softened his stance a little.

"Of course, this is just one match. Overall, if you think about everything -- it was really hot, we lost three wickets -- and want to take credit for all those then yes, it's a special win," he continued with a smile. "But I think it is just like another match, For sure, the match was in their [Pakistan's] backyard and they know the conditions better than us. We all know how dangerous the Pakistan attack can be in these conditions because there is a bit of help for pace bowlers early on. So from that perspective it was an important win for us. 

"And as you said, two or three players from our best 11 cannot play because of injury, so from that perspective I would say that all of us had to take a little extra responsibility. So Alhamdulillah, it was good in every way."

Perhaps Mushfiqur was downplaying the importance because his eyes were set on something bigger – winning the final against India after having made the title match in two of the last three editions: losing against Pakistan in 2012 at home and against India in 2016, also at home. 

They play the final against on Friday India, the form team of the tournament, having won comfortably against every opposition – including Bangladesh by seven wickets – until they rested a host of their first-choice players against Afghanistan on Tuesday, a game that ended in a thrilling tie. 

"I think so, the confidence is there although I feel we haven't played to our best yet in the three departments," Mushfiqur said when asked if they have a chance against the top-ranked ODI side. "We have been struggling in the batting group in the top order. India are playing outstanding cricket in this tournament, but they are also human beings and they are bound to make mistakes. So I think if we can put up a good score on the board, we can probably pressure them. If we are chasing a good score, if we get a good start then hopefully we can pull it off. That's one thing we hope we can achieve in this tournament."