Mortaza will give his life for the team and the country: Nazmul Hassan

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan said that the board knew skipper Mashrafe Mortaza would quit captaincy in the shortest format of the game. However, he was unaware of Mortaza’s decision to retire from T20s altogether.

However, Mortaza will continue to lead the Bangladesh side in One Day Internationals as the team is getting ready for the mega ICC event Champions Trophy.

“Mashrafe had told us for some time that this series would be his last as a captain, but we didn’t know he was going to retire,” Hassan was quoted as saying to The Daily Star. “That is where he left it that night [Monday night when he met Hassan], and it was up to him when he would announce it; we thought he would do it before the second match. I don’t know why he retired; according to the discussions we had we knew that he would be in the squad,” he shared with reporters at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo.

Nazmul Hassan added that all-rounder Shakib al Hasan is most likely to take charge of the captaincy for Bangladesh in T20 internationals.

“As far as the next captain is concerned, there are four candidates. Tamim, Mushfiqur, Mahmudullah and Shakib. Mahmudullah is yet to fully regain his rhythm, but among them Shakib is the player who is doing best and has also matured very much in recent times. Shakib is the likeliest candidate,” he said.

“We were thinking about the next T20 World Cup in 2020, and by that time it was unlikely that Mashrafe would be fit to play, so there would have been a new captain down the line anyway,” Hassan added.

The BCB president also made it clear that Mashrefe Mortaza would still be at the helm for Bangladesh in the one-dayers. “There is no scope to remove him from the ODI captaincy. Until a year ago, we thought that the Champions Trophy in England [this summer] would be his last, but now it seems like he will be there for much longer. As long as he is fit, he will be in the squad,” Hassan said.

Nazmul Hassan was all praises for the Bangladeshi quick Mortaza. He lauded his efforts in forming the team and bringing success to Bangladesh cricket over the years.

“It is not just what he does as a player with bat or ball. He is much more than that. He is something else… the love he has for team and country, the sacrifices he has made is something else. He will give his life for the team and the country, and that is rare. I am not saying the other players do not have that, but Mashrafe is on another level. It will be impossible to find someone like him in Bangladesh,” Hassan concluded.