The former Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is disappointed about the treatment that is meted out to him in the recent past and how his non-selection in the ODI squad has been handled. He felt that he deserved to be treated better after serving Bangladesh cricket for 20 years.
In 2001, Mashrafe Mortaza made his international debut in a Test match against Zimbabwe as an 18-year-old fast bowler. He went on to play international cricket for almost two decades, but he was Bangladesh’s captain for the longest duration. Moreover, he is the most successful ODI captain of all time in the history of Bangladesh cricket. He has led the nation in 88 ODI matches and has returned with 50 wins, while no other captain even has 30 wins in the 50-over format cricket.
This year, the veteran fast bowler was dropped from the ODI side for the first time in his 20-year career. Mortaza may have missed loads of cricket due to injuries, but he was never ignored and dropped by the selectors. There has been a lot of speculation around his retirement, but the 37-year-old fast bowler isn’t ready to call it quits yet.
There has been a lot of circus around his retirement. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been urging him to retire across formats in international cricket. Last year, Mortaza did reveal that he was ready to bid farewell to the game after the 2019 World Cup, but he said that there was a need to create a better environment, and hence, he stayed.
One of the chief selectors of Bangladesh cricket Minhajul Abedin had revealed that he had a word with Mortaza before the ODI selections against West Indies. However, Mortaza says it was a lie, and there was no communication at all.
It’s unfortunate. At least I deserved better after serving the nation for 20 years. A lot of media tried to speak to me after I was left out of the squad for the West Indies series. But I told the media that I took that very professionally. But since then many people have given many statements about why I was dropped. Nannu Bhai (Minhajul Abedin) while announcing the squad said that he had a word with me. It’s a lie.
Seeing all this, it seemed to me that the truth was not going to the people and they were seeing only one side of the things,
Mashrafe Mortaza was quoted saying in an exclusive interview to Cricbuzz.
Mortaza has had injury concerns in the past. He said that he didn’t fail a single fitness test, and despite that, it was cited as one of the reasons for his exclusion.
One of the reasons they cited was my fitness. Well, they have the data, and they know very well if I failed a single fitness test or not. I can assure you that my scores will be higher than even some of the established players, be it the beep test or the yo-yo test. How can you say that I failed a fitness test without even checking,
Mortaza further added.
Mortaza announced that the series against Zimbabwe, which was played in March 2020 would be his last captain, and he stepped down after that. Tamim Iqbal has taken over since then. That was his last international game.
Since then, Mortaza has played one List ‘A’ game in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League. He even tested positive for COVID-19 back in June 2020. In December 2020, during the Bangabandhu T20 Cup, the veteran fast bowler picked up seven wickets in four games, including a five-wicket haul.
