BSS, Sylhet :
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan pushed the ball to the court of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza about his much-talked retirement issue, ending the speculations that was hovering over the cricket fraternity after the 2019 World Cup in England.
Speaking to the media at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the BCB boss said Mashrafe has rights to decide about when he would walk into the sunset, considering his immense contribution for the country’s cricket.
At the same time, the BCB president said the board would finalize a captain for the team, eying 2023 World Cup in the next board of directors meeting of the BCB, which is set to be held on March 8 at the BCB headquarters in Mirpur.
“The board will finalize who will be the captain. The board will decide someone as captain, whom they feel as good to do the job,” Papon said here on Sunday.
“He (Mashrafe) will decide when he will retire from the cricket. Let him decide.”
The BCB, however, wanted Mashrafe to retire from the cricket after the World Cup in which Bangladesh finished at eighth position and the captain himself went through a patchy form, taking just one wicket in eight matches.
Mashrafe did not respond to BCB’s call to walk into the sunset but he missed the subsequent ODI series in Sri Lanka due to hamstring injury that he carried from the World Cup.
Mashrafe who is currently playing just ODI format of cricket did not get chance to go into the field until the Zimbabwe ODI series since Bangladesh had not play any ODI cricket in this period.
But in the meantime, his retirement issue occupied the headlines most of the time as the BCB president offered a grand farewell for him by arranging a series at home. Mashrafe in reply denied taking any grand farewell and made it clear he would continue playing cricket.
BCB then included him in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe as captain and Papon made it clear it is going to be his last series as captain.
He further made it clear Mashrafe would have to show his performance to make him available in the team as a general player.
The situation further became complicated during the pre-match conference of the first ODI in which Mashrafe made a rare outburst when the media personnel asked him whether his self-respect was hurt due to the current situation and his performance.
“Self respect to be ashamed of? Do I steal on the ground? Am I a thief,” Mashrafe threw counter-question. “I actually cannot relate things like ‘self-respect’ or ‘being ashamed’ with playing cricket. There are many people who steal and cheat, aren’t they ashamed of what they are doing? Only I have to feel ashamed if I do not get wickets in a game? Am I a thief?”
Without further elaborating, Papon said that Mashrafe has already revealed what he wanted as far as the retirement issue is concerned.
