Mashrafe Mortaza to be sought for clarity by the Bangladesh Cricket Board regarding his future
BCB’s President Nazmul Hasan has revealed that they are set to have a meeting with their ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza to have a clear image of his future with the national team. The 35-year old is currently on leave and talks of his retirement have been going around for more than a year now.
With a dismal World Cup campaign where the veteran pacer could only pick up a solitary wicket in as many as eight outings, Mashrafe Mortaza has reached the twilight of his career and most are anticipating him to retire soon. Bangladesh’s record-holding skipper in terms of matches served as captain was set to initially retire at the conclusion of the sporting extravaganza but has since backtracked on the decision.
Since the tournament in England, the team travelled to Sri Lanka for an ODI series but an injury kept Mortaza out of the squad even though he was initially a part of it. This has raised even further doubts over whether he’ll ever again represent the Tigers in an international match.
"We don't know what is going on in his mind. Let him come [from his village where he is celebrating Eid] and we are hoping to sit with him to know about his future plan],” Bangaldesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan was reported saying by Cricbuzz on Thursday.
The Board recently announced its upcoming plans, which include a one-off test against Afghanistan starting in the first week of September followed by a tri-series that will also include Zimbabwe. However, they are also planning a one-off ODI against Zimbabwe in Dhaka to give the captain a chance to sign off in front of the home crowd. they are waiting for Mortaza’s confirmation since officials indicated that arranging the match may cost as much as Tk60 lakhs. Post that, the team doesn’t have an ODI scheduled until June next year.
However, BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin has revealed they are not aware of Mortaza’s present physical condition.
"Mashrafe was initially in the 35-member squad but he withdrew his name. Probably he is not fit yet so we decided not to include him in our preliminary squad," he stated.
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