Bangladesh have been dealt a huge blow after ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan sustained another injury, this time to his left thigh, during the ongoing Test against West Indies at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.
Bangladesh have been fretting over Shakib’s fitness since he picked up a groin injury in the last of the three ODIs against the tourists, but the 33-year-old eventually managed to make the playing XI after recovering from it.
Shakib, who seemed to have re-injured his groin on the second day while fielding after scoring 68 runs, opted to go leave the field after only six overs of bowling as he was feeling uncomfortable. BCB revealed it was a new injury considering the last one was on his left side of his groin while the new injury is on his left thigh.
“Having recovered from his previous groin injury ahead of the first Test and successfully managing to bat in the Bangladesh first innings as well as send down six overs, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has suffered a strain in a different region of his left thigh while fielding on day two,”said BCB in a statement on Friday.
“The injury was confirmed by an MRI scan this morning. The BCB medical team will continue to treat and review his progress over the course of the first Test,” it added.
Eyebrows were raised when Shakib didn’t take the field on Friday morning, mainly because of the injury earlier in the series. In the ongoing Test, he appeared in pain when trying to stop a ball with his foot off his own bowling in his third over on the second afternoon.
He went on to bowl a few more overs but after completing his sixth, Shakib slowly walked off the field when Shadman Islam’s foot injury gave everyone a break.
This is Shakib’s comeback Test match after his one-year ban by the ICC ended on October 29 last year. He made a successful return in the ODIs, winning the Player of the Series award, but it was somewhat marred by the groin niggle - at the time, he had said that “it [the injury] isn’t looking good”.
