Rubel Hossain’s shoulder injury could keep him out of cricket for the better part of six months which could hurt the Tigers who are still without a stable new ball attack in all formats.
The Bagerhat-born paceman was hurt while playing for Sylhet Royals against Barisal Burners in the Bangladesh Premier League on February 10. He bowled only two overs in the inaugural game of the T20 competition before pulling up.
The required operation, whether a complicated one or a mere clean-up job, will keep the 22-year-old out of the game for at least eight weeks, and if he needs the more complicated procedure, will keep him out for six months.
“We have done double MRIs and had to correspond it with different places and that took some time. We took opinions to ensure a better operation,” said Dr Debashish Chowdhury, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s physician, who along with Tigers physio Vibhav Singh suggested to the Bangladesh Cricket Board that Rubel and Shafiul Islam, who suffered shoulder damage during the Asia Cup last month, must see a shoulder specialist in Cape Town.
“We have submitted the official report on Rubel [Hossain] and Shafiul [Islam] yesterday [Sunday],” he said, “Regarding Rubel we have suggested that he needs an operation and it should be done in South Africa.”
“After the real operation, he will need six months to recover. And if he does the smaller surgery, he will need six weeks to come back. He needs the operation because he can’t throw or dive, he can still bowl though.”
Debashish however admitted that time is of the essence for Rubel and swift action from the cricket board is a must, while adding that Shafiul can be healed in a more traditional way.
“It is getting a little late regarding Rubel because the operation is very complicated. We have no first-hand experience of it. Shafiul can continue the conservative treatment which he is undertaking,” he said.
Shafiul suffered an injury on his right shoulder when he dove at fine leg to save a boundary during the famous win against India in the Asia Cup. The initial X-ray report cleared him of any fracture in the region but there was some soft tissue damage.
Vibhav has been working with both pace bowlers, who have had regular gym sessions in Mirpur, after the Asia Cup but the South African physio hasn’t seen any healing in Rubel’s shoulder, it was learned.
As one of the brighter pace bowling prospects in the country, Rubel has gone from strength to strength after making his debut in mid-2009. He has improved over the three years, till he played the Pakistan series in December. In the absence of Mashrafe, he has carried the pace attack as Shafiul hasn’t taken himself to the next level while the likes of Shahadat Hossain and Robiul Islam haven’t had a similar impact in any format.
Chief selector Akram Khan believes that the country’s lack of pace options has received a further blow without Rubel.
“Rubel is one of our best bowlers and we felt his absence during the Asia Cup. He has served the country since making his debut and is one of our bright prospects. We are missing him,” said Akram.
“All three of us selectors are conducting hunts in the age-group levels from the Under-16s to the Under-19s. We have plans to put together a pace camp during the off-season because as far as I am concerned, fast bowlers are not selected looking at age, you need height, speed, etc,” said the former national captain.
-With The Daily Star input
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