Officially retired only from T20, in 2016. Mashrafe bin Mortuza, the most successful captain of Bangladesh cricket team, has not yet said goodbye to Test and ODI cricket. Not even around the national team for almost two years.
However, Mashrafe is right on the field. This right-handed pacer is playing with Bangladesh Premier League, Bangabandhu T20 Cup or Dhaka Premier League. In the current DPL, he will play for Legends of Rupganj.
Now he does not think about the national team. He is playing domestic cricket mainly because of the joy of his mind and feeling good. After the team practice in Rupganj on Thursday, Mashrafe spoke to the media about his future career.
Where he has made it clear, the national team is no longer in his focus. So now I want to play domestic cricket as long as possible. And since the national team is not in focus, they have returned to the country from India without undergoing back surgery, only with diet.
Mashrafe said, “I have come for treatment. It is a long time to do the surgery. Adjust the moment to play as much time. Then there is the big break, (limited overs) domestic cricket. If I had surgery now, maybe I would have missed domestic cricket. That’s why we manage as much as we can. ‘
Meanwhile, Legends of Rupganj have played their first match in the Premier League. They lost to Prime Bank Cricket Club by a huge margin of 148 runs. Mashrafe was not in that match. However, he hopes to return to the field in the second match of the team on Friday.
“Our next match is tomorrow (Friday),” he said after a full practice session with the team. Hopefully by now (play). Let’s go to the field and see the rest. ‘
Asked about the reasons or goals behind the continuation of domestic cricket at the time, Mashrafe said, “I have no goals. I said before. Just playing to feel good. I have no goal. ”
He added, “There are many players in Dhaka League who have been playing for maybe 10-15 years. They have no other goal. Some play for a living, some for fun. The game is a joy to them, so play. I always enjoy the game. Let’s see how long I can play. ‘
Mashrafe went to India after enrolling in Rupganj in the DPL team. It was assumed that he would have to undergo eighth surgery. But to return to the field after the surgery, a long rehabilitation process has to be done. However, he did not walk that path as there was no focus in the national team.
Mashrafe said, ‘It (surgery) is difficult. Back surgery has never been done before. This time the doctor forbade the surgery. Because this surgery is a long time affair. It will take about nine months to get fit. ‘
‘I don’t think I have any point in returning to the field after nine months of rehab after surgery. Since the national team has no focus, there is no point in staying away from surgery. ‘