Fans of Bangladesh limited-overs captain Mashrafee bin Murtaza perform a human chain in front of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium demanding the return of the player to Twenty20 internationals. — New Age photo
The Bangladesh Cricket Board seemed to be in two minds regarding the retirement of Mashrafee bin Murtaza from Twenty20 internationals.
BCB officials said they were expecting to consider Mashrafee in the Twenty20 internationals if he is fit and available despite he announced his retirement during the opening Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The unexpected turnaround of the event that was expected as a simple matter of retirement was caused due to the comments of BCB president Nazmul Hasan, who announced that Mashrafee is still available for T20Is.
Mashrafee announced his retirement from Twenty20 international during the toss of first match against Sri Lanka in recent series, creating a huge uproar among his fans.
Contrary to the common belief, BCB president Nazmul Hasan on Friday said the fast bowler was still available for the selection of national Twenty20 side.
BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury on Saturday echoed the same sentiment that BCB president Nazmul holds regarding the issue.
‘As far as our understanding he retired from Twenty20 cricket as a captain,’ Nizamuddin told New Age on Saturday.
‘He can be considered for Twenty20 internationals if he is available and fit,’ he said.
During the toss in the opening game Mashrafee told commentator and former Australian player Dean Jones that it was his last Twenty20 series for Bangladesh.
Nizamuddin said that they had taken his comment during the toss into consideration while they are not willing to accept anything apart from it that is posted in social media.
‘If you had noticed that he said that he is retiring after the series,’ said Nizamuddin.
‘He did not say he is retiring as a player from Twenty20 internationals.
‘He just retired from captaincy in T20 cricket while we cannot take anything seriously that followed afterwards in the social media.’
Before that Mashrafee posted in his official facebook account an announcement regarding his retirement.
‘It has been a great honour for me to represent Bangladesh in T20Is for more than 10 years
‘I believe that this team is currently a balanced one and there are some promising young stars.
‘I am very much grateful to Bangladesh Cricket Board & high officials for keeping the trust on me to lead this fantastic team.
‘This is high time for me to say good-bye to T20 format so that many youngsters can get the opportunity to showcase their talent and thus BCB can nurture them for the future,’ said the statement.
Mashrafee made his Twenty20 international debut against Zimbabwe in 2006, the first ever game played by the country in shortest format.
Meanwhile a human chain gathered in front of Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, where people from several walks
of life demanded the return of Mashrafee in the T20I.
BCB officials said they are yet to receive any formal letter from Mashrafee regarding his retirement.
Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that the selection panel is yet to be informed about BCB’s stance regarding Mashrafee.
‘From what I understand he had retired from Twenty20 internationals,’ said Minhajul
‘However, we are not informed not to consider him in Twenty20 cricket.’
Source: New Age
