“After seeing him and knowing him for so long, I went to him and asked him why he wasn’t bowling enough,” Kartik said. “And what he told me, I can totally relate to. He had a finger operation on his bowling finger, which is the tip of the finger on his left hand. It’s swollen, stiff, mobile and immobile. So he feels like he’s not getting any feeling. As a spinner, you need the feeling. Also, he has problems with his shoulder, so it’s a combination of both and it’s difficult to bowl in Test cricket where as a spinner you need that feeling.”

Tamim Iqbal later said in a broadcast that the visitors would be playing with an undersized bowler if Bangladesh had consciously chosen him despite the discomfort in Shakib’s spinning finger.

“Murali Kartik said that Shakib is having trouble gripping the ball due to this finger injury. If that is the case, Bangladesh is playing with four top-class bowlers. The team management should say whether they knew about this injury or not,” Tamim said.

However, BCB chief medical officer Dr. Debashish said he was not aware of any complaints from Shakib due to the finger or shoulder injury.

“Shakib had a broken finger at the World Cup in India,” he said. “Before that, he had an infection from another finger injury a few years ago. However, Shakib has not complained of any finger or shoulder injury recently. However, a broken finger can cause discomfort.”

Shakib failed to take a wicket in the Test and was dismissed by a mistimed reverse sweep shortly after Litton Das was dismissed in the first innings. Shakib also tries something new in his batting technique: he bites on a strap around his neck, apparently to prevent his head from falling over when playing the ball.