Shakib's surgery before Asia Cup?

Bangladesh Test and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan expressed his desire to go under the knife before the Asia Cup, to be held in UAE from September 15, as he wants to take the field with full fitness.

"I feel the sooner the surgery is done, the better. I think it should be done because I don't want to play without being fully fit. So, if I think along those lines then having surgery before the Asia Cup is normal. Most probably it will take place before the Asia Cup," Shakib told reporters upon his arrival to Dhaka yesterday after over a month-long tour of the West Indies.

Shakib's desire for the operation on his troubling left little finger brought the question: if he does go under the knife then will the all-rounder miss the Asia Cup next month?

When asked about the issue, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashish Chowdhury said: "Yes, he [Shakib] expressed his desire for the operation before the Asia Cup but we will have discussions before taking a final decision. We will talk to our physio [Thihan Chandramohan] and make a plan."

"We are not sure how much time it will take for him to fully recover because there are two or three options for his operation. As he took injections as per advice of Australia orthopedic surgeon Dr. Greg Hoy, we are communicating with him. The operation will most probably take place in Australia under Hoy's guidance. As far as I know, Shakib is going to perform Hajj (which is from August 19-24). He can do it before Hajj but once again nothing is confirmed yet," he added.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan however said that, although the surgery may be held before the Asia Cup, they could not envision playing without Shakib. "Coach Steve Rhodes preferred the surgery before the Asia Cup, but when I met with him today, I said it would be better to do it before the Zimbabwe series," Hassan told reporters yesterday. "The Asia Cup this time is already tough and it will be a psychological disadvantage if Shakib is not there. We will sit with Shakib and discuss everything soon."

Shakib had sustained the injury during a tri-nation series in January and disclosed during the tour of the West Indies that he wanted surgery as he had been playing with a lot of pain since then.

The Tigers have a busy schedule ahead as the Asia Cup is set to begin from September 15, followed by back-to-back home series against Zimbabwe and West Indies in October and November.