‘How did this happen?’ - BCB president on Shakib’s infection

"We are all very surprised. How could things get so serious and that amount of pus gather in one day," the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan said in a press conference today while talking about ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's infection, which forced him to skip the virtual semifinal at UAE against Pakistan and the tournament altogether and come back to Bangladesh before undergoing a immediately-needed surgery at Dhaka's Apollo Hospital to get the pus out.

Surgery was required immediately as Shakib was in danger of having his hand completely disabled if the pus had burst. Shakib had said before the Asia Cup that he wanted to undergo the surgery to correct his little finger on the left hand before the Asia Cup but later joined the team at UAE.

"It's a big question for us how this amount of pus could have gathered," the president said.  Shakib had incurred the injury on January 27 this year while playing the final of the three-nation tournament against Sri Lanka at home. While X-rays did not reveal any fractures, according the BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury, the ace all-rounder had a 'subluxation or a joint sprain at the base of the little finger on his left hand'.

"I talked to him today and Shakib informed that he will get the report today. He informed me that there is no use in undergoing operation right now. He is still there [in Australia] and the infection is under control. That's what Shakib told me, I did not speak to the doctor," Nazmul said.

Shakib's condition worsening suddenly is a matter of concern for the cricket fraternity at large and it is not easy to see who was responsible for the all-rounder's current situation.

"I talked to the ones involved and after talking to them, what I understood is that it was hard for them to recognize the infection. Shakib was administered injections at West Indies and I don't know whether the infection happened due to the injection. If there was infection beforehand then the steroids could have complicated matters but since Shakib did not complain, we cannot say for sure. We don't understand the situation but we are trying to get to the bottom of it," the president said.