'Served Nation For 20 Years': Mashrafe Mortaza Irked With Bangladesh Board For Not Arranging Farewell Match

Bangladesh’s Mortaza who played his last series in 2020 against Zimbabwe was dropped for the West Indies series. Read below to know what Mashrafe had to say.

Bangladesh bowling all-rounder, Mashrafe Mortaza who was the main reason behind India’s exit from the World Cup in 2007 was annoyed after lack of communication between him and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). He played his last series against Zimbabwe in 2020.                 He revealed that he was asked about retirement before the Zimbabwe series, but no one has contacted him since.

Mortaza was not picked for the West Indies series which happened this year. In an interview with Cricbuzz, Mortaza opened up about his feelings for the BCB. He said: "It's unfortunate. At least I deserved better after serving the nation for 20 years. Only Papon Bhai (Nazmul Hassan) asked me what I thought about it (retirement) before the Zimbabwe series. In fact, I did not want to retire with the memory of the World Cup. I was the highest wicket-taker in the previous three series. "After the Covid-19, I gained fitness and took five wickets and bowled well. But no one told me officially that they were not considering me. They could've told me, 'look, we are not considering you for the World Cup, play the West Indies series and retire'. The senior players of the team could've suggested so.”

He further added: "Yes, I was given that proposal to retire in the Zimbabwe series, but it was after they made the plan, and it came in the media. Still, Papon Bhai gave me due respect, and I told him that I would play the BPL and let him know about my decision. He agreed. So there was an agreement, and I expected to get another proposal, but it never came to me."

Mortaza felt that he was cheated and also acknowledged the fact that his chances of returning to the Bangladesh team are very low:

"When I was left out of the squad, I immediately knew that the chances of making a comeback are meagre. On top of that, I am 38 now. I said that I would continue to play domestic cricket as I love the game. I am just pointing out what professionalism is. The board hasn't shown it."

The 38-year old has picked up 270 wickets in 220 ODIs and 78 wickets in 38 Test matches for Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh team are currently on a small tour of New Zealand where they play three T20Is and three ODIs. So far, Bangladesh have lost all the matches on the tour with one T20I remaining.