Shakib Al Hasan gets the green signal to undergo surgery
Participation of Shakib Al Hasan in upcoming Asia Cup became more uncertain as Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has given him the green signal to go ahead with the surgery on his injured finger. BCB president was not in favor of Shakib's surgery before the Asia Cup initially but has now changed his mind.
"Shakib called me before going to [Hajj] and I asked him what he should do and at that point I said if he feels that the operation is required and he will have problem playing in this condition, then I asked him to get operated," Nazmul told reporters.
"I asked him if he feel that he can participate in the Asia Cup and then do[ operation ] later as it will be beneficial for the team. 'But the decision in this regard is entirely yours'" he added.
Shakib injured his finger injured in the final of tri-series against Sri Lanka earlier this year before returning to international cricket for the Nidahas Trophy in March 2018. After the series against West Indies, BCB chief physician Debasish Chowdhury revealed that Shakib played the series taking painkillers due to intolerable pain on his finger.
Shakib expressed his desire to undergo surgery on the affected finger to get fully fit ahead of the Asia Cup. That would result in his unavailability for the tournament. Now, if Shakib decides to go under the knife, he will surely miss the Asia Cup as it will need at least six weeks for him to come back from injury.
However, BCB has just announced a preliminary 31-man squad for the Asia Cup on Tuesday, that includes Shakib. If the all-rounder decides to skip this tournament to get his surgery done, BCB will have to the announce a replacement for him.
The Asia Cup 2018 is all set to be played in UAE from 15 September. All five Test playing nations of Asia will participate in this ODI tournament and an associate member of ICC of Asian region will also join them after Asia Cup qualifiers that will be held in Malaysia, starting on August 29.