A happy homecoming

The Bangladesh national cricket team touched down at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport early yesterday morning after wrapping up a fantastic tour of Sri Lanka.

The tour will be remembered for a plethora of reasons: a magnificent win in the Tigers' 100th Test, the inspirational Mashrafe Bin Mortaza calling time on his T20I career, and the visitors' dominant performances away from home in all formats of the game.

The Tigers came away from the 31-day tour with a sparkling record: 1-1 draws in the Test, ODI and T20I series.

As the players emerged from the airport, media personnel flocked to Mashrafe, who chose to speak about his team's performances before having the focus turned to himself.

"We played a very good series in Sri Lanka for the first time. The only feeling of unfulfillment from this tour was not winning the ODI series," the 34-year-old said. "We bounced back very strongly in the Test series despite being 1-0 down. We should have won the ODI series 2-0. And we came back from 1-0 down to draw the T20 series. Overall I think we have had a wonderful tour."

When asked about his thoughts on a 10-year T20I career, Mashrafe said: "I don't have any discontent about my T20 career. I think it is a matter of pride for my family that I have been able to play T20s for the past 10 years. For that reason, I am proud."

Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim was also beaming after leading the visitors to a magnificent centenary Test win.

"This year we have most of our games on foreign soil and our target was to do well away from home. We played well in New Zealand and India, but we did not get results," Mushfiqur began.

"We were poor in the first Test [against Sri Lanka], but the way we came back in the second Test was unbelievable. This is proof that we are improving in Test cricket with each passing day. Other than that, we also needed to show on the world stage that we can do well in Tests abroad."

Mushfiqur also had his attention turned to Mashrafe, and was asked whether the braveheart's departure would affect the team.

"Of course [it will]. He is not only a player, but also a guardian. The contribution which Mashrafe bhai has left is something that no one else can fill," was the Test skipper's assessment.

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan also spoke. He was a bit taken back by the entire hubbub surrounding Mashrafe's retirement, saying that no other country paid so much attention when a player left the shortest format of the game. He then made a bewildering statement of his own, saying that despite retiring, Mashrafe would continue to feature in the T20I side if needed.

"I have been telling you that Mashrafe has not left T20s yet. We haven't said that Mashrafe is not in the [T20] squad. He has only left captaincy. We will have three captains in three formats, I have said that from the start," Hassan said.

"If he doesn't want to play but we need him, will we let him go? Basically if he is fit he will play."