Mashrafe Mortaza, the former Bangladesh skipper, has served his country in cricket for a long period and took the teams to heights. During his time, he took Bangladesh to the top levels and final stages of ICC events several times.
It is mediocre to see that a person who stayed loyal to his country for so many years, has now been slashed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and they want Mashrafe Mortaza to retire.
Mashrafe has certainly been disappointed over BCB’s act and said that he deserves a better farewell rather than rushing him for retiring.
Mashrafe Mortaza disappointed by BCB: I never played for money
“Honestly speaking it seemed that there was a rush to bid me farewell and it was certainly hurting,” Mortaza told Cricbuzz.
“Firstly, they had to arrange a match to bid me farewell and it was not a normal match – a normal bilateral series is something and arranging a special match in a hurry is something else. Secondly, they were prepared to spend BDT Two Crores for that match. From an ethical point of view, it is not right considering our first-class cricket players are not getting paid enough.”
“They spoke about my salary, asking why would the board pay someone without anything in return? Have I been playing cricket for 18 years thinking about money? If I thought about money, there were many opportunities for me then. I did not play cricket for money. What was worse is that they spread rumors like the Bangladesh team played nine and a half players in the World Cup. Do you feel I deserve this? Maybe they [board] wanted to give me a better farewell but you must see my side as well. There were talks about me going for the Sri Lanka tour. I would have gone to Sri Lanka if I had not been injured,” he said.
“All of a sudden there was this rush to push me (out). All I know is that I have given my life to cricket even though I was torn apart and bleeding inside. If money was the main criteria, I could have done many things, more so when my career was troubled with so many injuries. I didn’t even go to play in ICL when I had an offer of BDT eight crores. I didn’t do that. I have played cricket by giving my life and maybe I could not become such a great player. But at least I expect some kind of respect”, Mortaza said.
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