‘All I have is love for Bangladesh cricket’
Sylhet Strikers skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Bangladesh's most successful captain, has a way of making things tick for his sides, even in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Sylhet have never won a BPL title before, but under Mashrafe's leadership, the team built on a balanced budget are banking on the confidence of youngsters such as Towhid Hridoy, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Rezaur Rahman Raza and dreaming of something special.
The 39-year-old spoke to the media yesterday, poignantly answering questions about issues such as social media attacks, local stars needing time to settle into international cricket and even speaking about dignified exits from the national team although he had no expectations for himself in that regard.
The Narail native has a way with words and brought the difficulty players face in Bangladesh's national team compared to other countries under the spotlight. He also compared the abuse that someone like Liton Das or Shanto gets on social media to players in the past, relating it to the point he wanted to make about settling down in the international circuit.
"There are only a few players, maybe two or three, who have not been attacked on social media despite playing international cricket for a long time. If social media was similar to the present back then [when his batch was coming through], Tamim [Iqbal] may not have become Tamim. In these kinds of tournaments, someone plays well in one or two editions and plays in the national side. But that doesn't mean they have a strong base. Even those who play in [India's] Ranji Trophy or [Australia's] Sheffield Shield or English county cricket can struggle when it comes to international cricket. Since our base is not as strong, it's normal to take four-five years to settle," Mashrafe reflected.
He not only talked about youngsters such as Shanto, who he claimed was one for the long haul, but also his national teammates that are nearing the end of their time on the international stage.
Only Barishal captain Shakib is reaching new peaks in this BPL with the bat. Mash, who spoke positively about this edition of the BPL because it allowed local players to be gauged against good bowling attacks, told The Daily Star that Shakib was 'finding his way as world-class stars do'.
"He changed his stance and is now playing all around the wicket. What you expect from Shakib is that he will come like a king and perform like a king," he told The Daily Star after the presser.
Mash bore no expectations that his international career would end on a positive note with a final game on the field. He reserved that expectation for other stalwarts.
"Those that are playing, such as Shakib, Tamim, Musfiqur [Rahim] and [Mahmudullah] Riyad, are legends of Bangladesh even if someone doesn't want to admit it. I wish people get the opportunity, so that these players can leave the field with the deserved respect. People often count how much money they got, but they don't look at the sacrifice.
"I hope they get respect so that young and middle-aged players can have faith that they will at least get that respect when they leave the game. That's it. But I don't have any anger [about how my chapter closed]. All I have is love for Bangladesh cricket," the skipper concluded.