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'The doctor had said if I was late by another month they would have had to amputate my hand.'
Left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan avoided a possible amputation of his bowling hand after approaching the doctor just in time, the Lucknow Super Giants player revealed after his match-winning effort against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2023 match on Tuesday.
Entrusted with the task to defend 11 runs in the final over against a marauding Tim David and Cameron Green, Mohsin gave away just five to help his team win the game and inch closer to a play-offs berth.
This after the speedster underwent a surgery to remove blood clots in his bowling shoulder last year. The shoulder injury on his bowling hand kept him out LSG's line-up for majority of the IPL 2023 season.
"It was a very tough time and I had given up hope of playing cricket at one point because I was not able to even lift my hand, forget bowling," Mohsin said at the post-match press conference, recalling the time he was battling the injury.
"I was not able to straighten it (my hand), my physio worked alongside me. It was medical related, it was quite scary, as the doctor had said if I was late by another month they would have had to amputate my hand," he added.
The 24-year-old from Uttar Pradesh had a sensational season last year but missed whole of domestic season and most part of the IPL this year due to the injury. He was playing in only his second match this IPL season.
"Regarding my injury, I would first like to say that no cricketer should suffer this kind of condition. It was quite strange, my artery was blocked, my nerve was blocked.
"But my association (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) Rajeev Shukla sir, LSG's Sanjeev (Goenka) sir, my family helped me a lot. They gave their best, but still I was struggling before and after the surgery."
Talking about his plan in the final over, he said he was looking to implement what he did in training.
"Obviously there is pressure when bowling the last over, but I was speaking to the captain that I would be looking to execute what I have been doing during practice. So I followed that and backed myself," Mohsin said.
"I was not thinking that I have to defend 11 runs or 10 runs, my aim was to just bowl six good balls, and thankfully, it worked. I had the confidence in my ability, irrespective of who I was bowling to, and the ball was also reversing a bit."
After he was ruled out of majority of the season, the franchise picked Saurashtra and India left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat as a replacement at the IPL auction last December, but they kept Mohsin in the squad.
Looking ahead, he said, "I will try to keep myself fit and play as much as possible. I was with the team, doing my rehab and training.
"As you are aware now, my father was discharged yesterday (on Monday) only as he had suffered a brain stroke. I had gone to the hospital to see him, told him that he would get well, and see me playing. He must have been very happy watching me play," he said.