Ctg spoil a Mashrafe special day
The veteran Bangladesh captain started intl career 15 years back
Sports Reporter
When he was expected to celebrate his 15 years in international cricket as first Bangladeshi cricketer with some notable performance, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza couldnt quite live up to the expectation. But that one performance in a domestic tournament shouldnt take the gloss off from his wonderful personal achievement, charismatic leadership that has transformed Bangladesh side to a force to reckon with and the legacy he is making. Its a worth journey to celebrate.
In bowling he conceded 34 runs to go wicket-less after bowling four overs and scored just 1 runs, a performance that was not hoped by his fans on a day when he started his journey in international cricket 15 years back with the match against Zimbabwe. Mashrafe, in terms of career longevity went past former national captain Akram Khan, who fell just short of 15 years in his career.
But he had to mark the day with an unfortunate defeat as Chittagong Vikings beat his Comilla Victorians by 31 runs in the BPL-4 opener yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
It could have been fantastic had we began the journey with a victory. I didnt think about my personal milestone. Teams victory is what I cherish more, Mashrafe said.
Before he went to toss, his opposite number Chittagong batsman Tamim Iqbal congratulated him on his 15-year to the international cricket, saying Congratulation to you on your 15-year journey and hope you will make the journey longer.
In a countrys cricket, where chopping and changing is frequent, as a pacer it is a rare accomplishment for Mashrafe to represent Bangladeshi for 15 years. His injury prone career forced him to withdraw him from the Test cricket but still he continued ODI and T20 career with dignity. That stat would look more glorious for a man who had to undergo for seven major surgical operations on his both knee. No sportsman in the history could sustain with more than three operations, let alone seven, which made Mashrafe a unique example in the sports history.
With six wickets in the first Test against the then powerful side Zimbabwe, Mashrafe started with a bang and hinted a lot more to come from him, only to be denied by perennial injury. Yet he turned into a phenomenal one not just because he achieved so many things as an individual but also for his role as an inspirational captain of the side.
Since he took over the captaincy in the ODI and T20 format in 2014, Mashrafes inspirational captaincy helped Bangladesh won some series against the superpower like India, Pakistan, South Africa and reached the quarter-final of the World Cup to make them a force to reckon with.
It is believed that his iconic presence acted as the philosophers stone to transform the team.
Mashrafe, who grabbed eight wickets in the last England series to take his career tally to 216, became the highest wicket taker as a Bangladeshi in ODI surpassing Shakib Al Hasan. It proved his worth not only as the captain but as the premium fast bowler despite all his injuries.
In his own word, he played his most emotional match back in March 17, 2007, just the day after the premature demise of his childhood friend and teammate Manjarul Islam Rana in an accident, and he grabbed 4-38 with high fever to demolish Indian batting side.
That ultimately helped Bangladesh beat the strong Indian side to eliminate them from that World Cup from group stage in West Indies and it is believed that win ascended Bangladeshs status in the cricketing world.
Mashrafe also made important all-round performance to beat the same side for the first time in what was also Bangladeshs first ever win on home soil and ironically their 100th ODI as well.
