Agency :
Former Bangladesh captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, has made it to the A category ahead of the players’ draft for the upcoming edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The 38-year-old hasn’t played international cricket since March 2020 after he relinquished captaincy.
Going by the list in the players’ draft, six cricketers – Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman – are confirmed to be in the A category.
The inclusion of Mortaza in the top category has raised some eyebrows given he does not play cricket regularly and is busy with his duty as a member of parliament.
Mortaza’s last competitive match was the Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 final on December 18. However, BPL board secretary Ismail Haider said the veteran deserves this recognition.
“Yes, we kept Mashrafee in category A because we think he deserves to be there,” Ismail said. “Although I cannot comment on the national team, he is still a very good player on the national circuit and is one of the best brains in cricket. We also have to show some respect for all his contribution and if you go by the statistics you will see that he is very successful in BPL”, he added.
Injured all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin has been overlooked in the player selection list for the tournament set to start on January 21. However, it did not go well with him as he was considering entering the tournament only as a hitter considering his back injury did not allow him to bowling.
“No one is ready to hear or understand junior players like us. I have no complaints against anyone but I am injured,”Saifuddin wrote on his Facebook page.
Category B comprises 14 cricketers while there are 40 cricketers in category C. In categories D, E, F, there are 60, 63 and 29 players respectively.
