Mashrafe Mortaza steps down as Bangladesh captain

Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has confirmed ahead of the third ODI against Zimbabwe that it will be his last game as the skipper of Bangladesh. The fast bowler appeared in the press conference on the eve of the third ODI against Zimbabwe and made the major announcement.

Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon announced that will announce a new captain before the only against ODI Pakistan, signaling the ODI series against Zimbabwe will be Mashrafe’s last series as the captain of Bangladesh. The board wants to select a captain, who can take the responsibility to lead the team in the 2023 World Cup.

Bangladesh have already sealed the three-match series after a narrow victory in the second ODI. If the hosts managed to win the last ODI, it will be Mashrafe’s 50th ODI win as a captain and he will achieve this feat in this last ever game as the captain.

It has also been informed that Mortaza’s selection as a player for future tournaments will be subject to his beep test results. He was named the captain of Bangladesh back in 2010 and after a few short stints, he reclaimed the leadership role in November 2014 and changed the dimension of the Bangladesh team.

Mashrafe led Bangladesh to their first-ever knockout stage in the 2015 World Cup and also eliminated the hosts England out of the tournament. Bangladesh also played the semi-final of the Champions Trophy under his captaincy and also played in the Asia Cup final thrice.

In a total of 87 matches as captain, Mashrafe won 49 games and lost 36, a record not like any other as the captain of Bangladesh. He has featured for Bangladesh in 219 ODIs and picked up 269 wickets and maintains an economy of 4.88. It will be an uphill task for Bangladesh to find another leader like the Narail Express and all in all, it’s an end of an era for Bangladesh cricket.

“Tomorrow is going to be my last match as captain. I want to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for keeping their faith in me for such a long period of time. I also want to thank the players who have played under my captaincy,” Mashrafe said at the press conference.