Murali Karthik reveals Shakib Al Hasan playing with discomfort on spinning finger, shoulder

NEW DELHI: Former Indian spinner Murali Karthik on Saturday revealed that Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is experiencing discomfort in his spinning finger and shoulder.Shakib bowled seven overs on the third day after being asked to bowl by skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto. However, he had a tough time as Rishabh Pant hit him for six fours and two sixes. This has been a challenging year for Shakib, who has managed to score just 295 runs in 18 innings across all formats with an average of 19.66, including one fifty. Additionally, he has taken 18 wickets at an average of 39.88, with best figures of 4/35.Karthik, who was handling broadcasting duties for the match, mentioned to ESPNCricinfo that Shakib has undergone finger surgery on his bowling hand."Having seen him and known him for such a long period of time, I did go up to him and ask the reason why he has not bowled enough. And the thing which he said to me is something I completely resonate with. He has had a finger surgery on his bowling finger, which is the point of his finger of his left hand. It is swollen, it is rigid, there is no movement, no suppleness to it. So he feels he is not getting any feeling out of it. As a spinner you need the feeling. Also he is having issues with his shoulder so it is a combination of both and it's tough to bowl in Test cricket where you need that feel as a spinner," said Karthik.Shakib sustained a left index finger injury during a match against Sri Lanka in the 50-over World Cup last year, sidelining him for a few months. He also had an eye issue that delayed his return to the Bangladesh team until March this year.Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal stated that if Bangladesh picked Shakib despite his injuries, they are essentially playing with one bowler less."Murali Kartik said that Shakib is having trouble gripping the ball due to this finger injury. If that is the case, Bangladesh are playing with four frontline bowlers. The team management should inform whether they knew about this injury or not," Tamim said.However, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Dr. Debashish clarified that they are unaware of any recent discomfort in Shakib's finger or shoulder."Shakib had a fracture in his finger from the World Cup in India. Before that, he had an infection from another finger injury a few years ago. Shakib,, though has not recently complained about a finger or shoulder injury. A broken finger however can cause discomfort," he concluded.