Mashrafe Mortaza to retain captaincy, says BCB chief Nazmul Hasan

President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (PCB), Nazmul Hasan has snubbed all rumours encompassing Mashrafe Mortaza’s early exit from the team. The announcement came days after the local press picked up some early statements of the board chief. It was that speculated that BCB was contemplating a new One-Day International captain as it might be difficult for Mortaza to continue when they head into World Cup, in 2019.

Nazmul Hasan has now stated that they are not thinking of replacing Mashrafe and he can continue as long as he deems fit. The news of the impeachment was tough for Mortaza too, being the one who led the team to their maiden semi-final appearance in the recently concluded Champions Trophy. He has now declared that he is willing to play only if BCB feels that he is not good enough to lead the side.

Nazmul, however, cleared the air of ambiguity surrounding Mortaza’s future, saying they are not looking to replacing their talismanic captain. The BCB chief told the reporters at SBNS, “Let me clear one thing, Mashrafe is just not a player but he is also our ODI captain. The way he is leading the side, it is impossible to get any replacement of him in Bangladesh.”

He further added, “There is no alternative to replacing him as a player, too. As long as he fit to play, we won’t drop him.”

Mortaza’s ODI days might be numbered

His fitness has for long been under the scanner. The fast bowler’s sudden retirement from T20 cricket after the tour of Sri Lanka this year has stirred speculations if his days as an ODI player are numbered too.

Mashrafe has had seven operations on his knee. However, he has never looked short of form and is the second most successful bowler for Bangladesh since World Cup 2015, grabbing 42 wickets in 30 matches with an economy rate of 4.99.