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POST TIME: 6 March, 2020 00:00 00 AM / LAST MODIFIED: 5 March, 2020 11:24:03 PM
History beckons Mash on his last match as skipper
Sports Reporter from Sylhet

History beckons Mash on his last match as skipper

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza speaks at a pre-match press conference at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium yesterday. BCB Photo

Masharfe Bin Mortaza is now on the verge of winning 50 matches as captain. Today's match against Zimbabwe on home soil is likely to be his last match as the national team skipper.  There were speculations that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) might ask Mashrafe to continue as captain till Shakib Al Hasan makes his comeback to cricket. But Mashrafe himself revealed at the pre-match press conference in Sylhet that the last match of the current ODI series would be his last match as captain.

Mashrafe has won the most number of ODI matches as the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team. He got the captaincy of the Bangladesh team for the first time in 2010. But he could not lead the team properly as he had to go out of the team for a bad knee injury. He, however, regained the captaincy in ODI cricket in 2014 and have been leading the team since then. He led Bangladesh in two world cups—the Australia-New Zealand ICC World Cup in 2015 and the United Kingdom (UK) ICC World Cup in 2019. He captained the team to victory in 49 matches among 87 one-day matches.

Habibul Bashar Sumon is the second-most successful captain of the country. He led Bangladesh to victory in 29 one-day internationals among 69 matches before ending his career. Shakib Al Hasan won 23 matches among 50 matches as captain. Mushfiqur Rahim (11 matches), Mohammad Ashraful (8 matches), Khaled Mashud Pilot (four matches), Aminul Islam Bulbul (two matches), and Akram Khan (one match) were among the other winning captains for Bangladesh.

Besides, Khaled Mahmud Sujon (15 matches), Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu (seven matches), Naimur Rahman Durjoy (four matches), Tamim Iqbal (three matches), Minhajul Abedin Nannu (two matches), and Rajin Saleh (two matches) also led Bangladesh in different times, but they did not manage to win any matches.

But Mashrafe seemed calm even at the possibility of touching the milestone. “Personally, I don’t think much about any record. It’s more important to win matches for the country. The next match is another match that we will try to win,” he said.