Senior Bangladesh cricketers Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza lose central contracts

In what was a surprising move by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), two senior Bangladesh cricketers have been excluded from the new central contracts list. The cricket body has come down heavily on the veteran player Mashrafe Mortaza and experienced all-rounders Shakib Al Hasan as the key players lost central contracts.

On Sunday, Mashrafe Mortaza stepped down as ODI captain that saw Tamim Iqbal replacing him as the full-time ODI captain of the side. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan confirmed in a press release that after the board meeting, we have unanimously decided Tamim Iqbal will be Bangladesh’s ODI captain.

However, soon after that, Mashrafe Mortaza lost his power in the national cricket team as he and his teammate Shakib al Hasan have been dropped from the new central contract list announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in three various categories.

Bangladesh Cricket Board, during an official meeting of the Board of Directors on Sunday, have finalized a list of 16 players to be added in the national wages. But, only seven players in the list were offered a contract for both red and white-ball cricket which will come to a close on December 31 this year.

BCB excludes Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan from central contracts

The decision to drop Mashrafe Mortaza is that he had announced his retirement from ODI captaincy and will not be considered as a regular member of the Bangladesh team whereas Shakib-Al-Hasan is not considered for the fresh contract as he is currently facing a two-year ban which was imposed by the global cricket body, International Cricket Council (ICC) for not reporting corrupt approaches.

Shakib Al Hasan’s ban ends on October 29, 2020, and unfortunately, he won’t be able to participate in the T20 World Cup tournament, which starts on October 18. Along with Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan, the likes of Imrul Kayes, Abu Hider Rony, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Shadman Islam have also been dropped from the previous contract.

Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rahman have been dropped from the Test contract list and handed contract only for white-ball cricket. Meanwhile, newly-appointed ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun and spinners Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan were the seven other players who were given a contract for all formats.

Test captain Mominul Haque, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain were given a contract only for red-ball cricket. Mahmudullah, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim were given contracts only for the 50-over format.