It's Mushy's duty

A technically-sound Mushfiqur Rahim is the most consistent and dependable Bangladeshi batsman in recent times, so it came as no surprise when he was named the player-of-the-series after scoring the highest runs in the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe yesterday.

If someone wishes to judge his success as a reply to the authorities after he lost his ODI captaincy to Mashrafe Bin Mortaza before this series, one can do that by his own right, but to Mushfiqur it's simply a duty for him to contribute to his side.

"It feels good [on the field]. Maybe off the field, yes I understand, I did not have to do those meetings and planning. But on the field, I tried my best to help Mashrafe bhai. What I always tried to do was to contribute. Our team work was brilliant. All the credit to Mashrafe bhai as he did the bowling changes well," said the wicketkeeper-batsman when asked about how it felt after the change in captaincy.

He dismissed the notion that the player-of-the-series award was a reply to the authorities.

"Actually this is nothing new, even when I was captain I got these awards. This is just one part whether you are captain or not you have a responsibility. I was in good touch so it was my duty to contribute when my team needed. It's a good feeling that I contributed. This is also my first series after marriage, so I am really happy," was the response from the little man, who added that captaincy was never a burden for him.