Mashrafe Mortaza steps down as Bangladesh’s ODI captain

Mashrafe Mortaza, the legendary Bangladesh cricketer, has stepped down as the ODI captain of the national team. He is currently plying his trade in the Tigers’ home ODI series against Zimbabwe. Over the last few months, there have been plenty of ruckus around his plans on the field. He was the skipper in the 2019 World Cup where Bangladesh took down South Africa and West Indies.

But then his performance with the ball didn’t impress many. He got the solitary wicket of Jonny Bairstow and also didn’t complete his quota on a number of times. After the mega event, he made a return to competitive cricket in the 2019-20 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). There he captained the Dhaka Platoon, who were knocked out by Chattogram Challengers in the playoffs.

Mashrafe Mortaza- The end of an era

Prior to that, he also asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for some time to take a final call on his career. Mashrafe is also an MP from the Narail District after winning the elections. Following a lot of chaos, it was learned that the speedster would be picked for the ODIs versus Zimbabwe. Nazmul Hasan Papon, the BCB chief, also iterated that it would be the veteran final series as ODI skipper.

Prior to the ODI series, Mashrafe also entered into a brawl with a journalist. The scribe asked him whether he was ashamed of not being able to pick up wickets. The question irked Mortaza, who hit back, saying that he doesn’t play the sport to sacrifice his self-respect. Moreover, he also said that he isn’t a thief and there’s no need to feel shamed since he is donning the Bangladesh colours.

Mashrafe was one of the one of the fastest bowlers in Bangladesh when he forayed into cricket. But regular surgeries on his knees, buckled him down. However, it couldn’t fizzle out the spirit from him as he took the Tigers to the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup, beating England.

Mashrafe stepping down means that Bangladesh will need to find a new captain in a month’s time. The Tigers will be playing a one-off ODI against Pakistan on April 1 at the National Stadium in Karachi. It now remains to be seen if Mortaza gets picked on the basis of his performances.