Shakib’s absence would be a massive dent in Bangladesh’s hopes of drawing the two-match series 1-1 against the Men in Blue. His injury seems to be quite serious and is being closely monitored for further representation in the series.
The all-rounder was seen to bowl only 21 overs across both innings, conceding 129 runs without any wickets whereas his partner in the spin department, Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled 46 overs in the match. It was evident that skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto delayed Shakib’s introduction in India’s first innings with the on-air commentators clarifying the latter’s finger injury. Moreover, the 37-year-old was seen taped on the finger on the third day of the first Test while fielding.
“We are heading to Kanpur tomorrow and today is a day off. We will have two sessions afterward and we will judge after that and we don’t want to make a decision yet [regarding Shakib’s availability for Kanpur]. These two days, the physio has kept him under observation. When we get back to the ground, we will get the physio’s feedback. We have to think before picking Shakib for the next match and there is time before the next match. We will see what condition he is in,” Hannan Sarkar, one of the members of BCB’s selection panel cited.
Shakib scored 32 and 25 in both innings, which turned out to be the team’s second-highest run aggregator in the match they lost by 280 runs. In yet another eye-catching note, the all-rounder was seen biting a strap tied to his shoulder during batting as a ploy to correct his head position from falling over while playing strokes. Although there are three days until the start of the second Test on September 27, Bangladesh will be keeping their fingers crossed for Shakib to get fit soon.
