Rahul Dravid expresses concerns over Mortaza's availability for WC 2019

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid recently expressed his happiness with the way Bangladesh cricket has evolved over the years. Their most recent achievement of making it to the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy needs to be given a lot of applause. Coming in to the tournament, the Bangla tigers were soaring high on confidence as they were the 6th ranked side in the competition.

Their win against New Zealand in Ireland had given them the big boost ahead of the competition. They ended up beating the same opposition in the big ICC event riding on a masterclass partnership between Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan. Combine that effort with a bit of assistance from the rain gods, and the Bangladesh team was in the semi-finals for the first time. Their fairy tale ended with team India inflicting a 9-wicket win over them.

The defeat meant an ouster for them but has left many questions unanswered. As per the quotes in bdcrictime.com, former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid pointed out a very valid question. Dravid believes that the team needs to figure out how they handle their skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. On a day when all bowlers struggled, only Mashrafe got it right for the Bangladeshis. Dravid expressed his concern on the same. He remarked that the team has to address the question whether Mortaza will be fit to play the ICC World Cup 2019 or not.

“Bangladesh have a lot to take from this tournament. Now that they are out of it, there’s a lot of thinking left for them. One of them must be about Mashrafe, their captain,” quoted Rahul Dravid.

Only a couple of years for WC 2019

“Clearly, as you saw in the field, Mashrafe is still the best bowler of the side, and once again he proved it today. But the 2019 World Cup is in just two years, and they have to decide if he can last for two more years,” the former Indian cricketer added further.