‘We’ve done it before’ – turnarounds Tigers can draw from

A left little finger injury that just a month ago seemed to be a minor one has now worsened to the point that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's participation in the 2019 ICC World Cup, set to begin on May 30 in England, is currently in jeopardy.

The latest updates from doctors after assessing his injured area is that the cricketer will not be able to undergo surgery at least for the next six months, until the infection fully subsides and has been observed to not have any traces in the bone. Further details of his current state will be known after test results arrives in the next few days.

The cricketer, who is in 72-hour observation under doctor Greg Hoy at Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, will have to stay in Australia for at least eight days.

The doctors have started administering antibiotics and injections again. Shakib is expected to return to the field after three months to test whether the infection recurs.

"Since there is no chance of doing surgery till around six months elapse, because of the infection. If that [infection] remains [when the surgery is done] then the hand will be ruined, so no one will take that chance. We have to wait till it's a hundred per cent sure that the infection is gone.

"When the medication stops after one-and-a-half to two months we have to wait for one or two months to see if the infection increases. I will also have to play to see if the infection increases. When all the tests are done and we are sure that there is no chance of the infection coming back or increasing, we can go for surgery. It may take six months or one year. Doctors are thinking six months to a year," Shakib told The Daily Star yesterday.

There is little chance of Shakib avoiding the surgery altogether, if the pain miraculously disappears after the medication ends. Even after surgery the finger will be in a fixed position with little to no movement, but it is expected to be in a state suitable to play cricket..

Shakib injured his finger in the final of the tri-nation series against Sri Lanka in January this year.

After returning from the Caribbean in August, Shakib said that he will have to undergo surgery, but Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan expressed a desire that he postpone the operation till after the Asia Cup.

Shakib return from the UAE mid-way through the Asia Cup and had to undergo immediate surgery to remove the pus from his finger in Dhaka and flew for Australia on October 5.

SHAKIB'S RACE TO THE WC IN CASE OF SURGERY

When the medication stops then we have to wait for one or two months to see if the infection increases. Doctors are thinking six months to a year. The medication will end after a month and a half to two months from now; I have to start playing a month after the medication ends to see whether the infection is still there, whether the virus has remained in the bone. If the pain goes away miraculously, there will not have to be a surgery, but chances of that are minuscule. 

Liton Das has been one of the more maligned junior national cricketers in Bangladesh, because the perception is that he was wasting his considerable talent with the bat. To watch him play a cover drive and to witness that extra fraction of a second that he has to play the ball is to realise that he could grow to be one of the better batsmen produced by the country. However, seeing him throw away countless good starts with bad shots tempered those expectations considerably.

In the just-concluded Asia Cup, he took up the poisoned chalice of being Tamim Iqbal's opening partner -- a position that no one has been able to make his own despite being given enough opportunities. He scored a 42-ball 43 against Afghanistan in their Super Four game on Sunday, but as seemed typical then, he squandered the start with a wild slog sweep.

In Friday's final against India, Liton moved past all of that with a 117-ball 121 and showed why he has been persisted with. He also proved that, when it comes to possible candidates for the position of Tamim's opening partner, he is the first among equals. If he does make the transition, the innings provided a glimpse into how devastating an opening pair of Tamim and Liton could be.

India's pace attack is a formidable one, and the fiery Jasprit Bumrah had been allowed to settle into his rhythm thus far in the tournament. Liton however displayed that quality that is the bedrock of all batsmen for whom aggression is the modus operandi -- he backed himself to go after the opposition's most feared bowler.

Bumrah bowls above 140 kmph, but Liton repeatedly stepped out to him and hammered boundaries. Bumrah ended his third over, after Liton advanced down the wicket and hit the fast bowler off mid on, having conceded 23 runs. That put the pressure on India's spinners who had thus far come on and benefited from the pacers' economy in their opening spells. Liton took care of that, hitting leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for big sixes, choosing his areas carefully.

But there was then the typical moment of madness when, just having completed his 50 off 33 deliveries, he went for a wild slog sweep off Kuldeep Yadav. This time, however, he survived as Chahal dropped the catch at mid on.

But what happened then was what will give fans the most hope. Liton saw skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's chest thump from the dressing room asking him to stay strong, and the youngster responded. He chose to play mostly along the ground, picking areas shrewdly for his boundaries. As wickets started falling at regular intervals at the other end, Liton did not throw it away but actually slowed down to complete his maiden century off 87 balls. He kept batting responsibly before a marginal stumping decision, off a defensive shot, ended arguably the innings of the tournament.

It is early days yet, but if Liton can keep mixing his penchant for dominance with thoughtful batting, it will be an auspicious development for Bangladesh cricket.