With focus on future, selectors move on from Mashrafe

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was at the centre of all discussion when Bangladesh's most successful ODI captain's name was missing from the 24-member preliminary squad named yesterday by the national selectors for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.

There was much interest about whether the selectors would give the pacer another opportunity. He had retired from T20Is in 2017 and in March last year, stepped down as ODI captain, with the board handing the baton over to Tamim Iqbal.

However, the 37-year-old pacer has not announced his retirement from ODIs yet, even though there were murmurs that Mashrafe may retire as early as at the end of the 2019 World Cup, a tournament in which he managed to pick just one wicket from eight games.

The selectors, led by Minhajul Abedin, finally took the bold step and moved on from the Mashrafe era and give opportunities to young uncapped pacers like Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam to prepare a fresh batch before the next World Cup. When asked how difficult it was to reach the decision to move past Mashrafe, the chief selector said it was taken after consulting with the team management keeping the future in mind.  "As there was no cricket for the last 10 months, we decided to start afresh and also kept in mind the focus on the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup and also the ICC's Test Championship. We have huge respect for Mashrafe as he has done tremendously well for the country and it was a tough decision for us.

"But we also have to accept the reality and move forward as the whole team management agreed to the decision keeping the upcoming World Cup in mind, so we had to drop him. We also need to give the exposure to youngsters keeping the future of Bangladesh cricket in mind," Minhajul told the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Mashrafe returned to competitive cricket last month through the Bangabandhu T20 Cup. The veteran pacer bowled brilliantly for Gemcon Khulna and even picked up a five-wicket haul in the crucial first qualifier that once again brought him back in the limelight. However, it was difficult for the selectors to be swayed by Mashrafe's performances in T20 cricket and picking him for the ODIs, especially considering his long history of injuries and match fitness issues.

The Tigers' most successful ODI pacer had previously said that he would want to continue playing domestic cricket regardless of whether he is selected for the national team. According to Minhajul, the message was similar when the selectors had a discussion with Mashrafe prior to the team announcement. Meanwhile, the selectors also included two more uncapped batsmen in young Parvez Hossain Emon and Yasir Ali as reward for their performance in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

The selectors also announced a 20-member preliminary squad for the tTest series with another experienced campaigner, Mahmudullah Riyad, not finding a spot after being dropped from the previous Test series against Zimbabwe. Left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman returned to the Test squad after being rested during the last series against Zimbabwe in March last year as the pacer has looked in good rhythm recently.