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Cricket Players‘Am I a thief? Why should I be ashamed?’: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza fumes at reporter ahead of Zimbabwe series
In the pre-match press conference on the eve of the 1st ODI at Sylhet, a reporter apparently asked whether Mortaza should be ‘ashamed’ of his recent form in ODIs, to which the Bangladesh ODI captain replied, “Why should I be ashamed? Am I a thief?”
Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza lost his cool when a reporter questioned his recent form in international cricket. Mortaza, who is making a comeback to international cricket after the World Cup in July last year, will lead Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe starting on Sunday.
In the pre-match press conference on the eve of the 1st ODI at Sylhet, a reporter apparently asked whether Mortaza should be ‘ashamed’ of his recent form in ODIs, to which the Bangladesh ODI captain replied, “Why will I be ashamed? Am I a thief?”
Mortaza has not been a part of the Bangladesh ODI team ever since the World Cup last year, in which he was widely criticised for not being able to pick up wickets. Mortaza picked up only 1 wicket in 8 matches.
“Do I steal on the ground? Am I a thief? I actually cannot relate things like ‘self-respect’ or ‘being ashamed’ with playing cricket. There are people who steal and cheat; aren’t they ashamed of what they are doing? Only I have to feel ashamed if I do not get wickets in a game? Am I a thief?,” said Mashrafe in Sylhet on Saturday.
WATCH: Mahsrafe Mortaza loses his cool to a question from a reporter ahead of Zimbabwe series
“I might not get wickets and then all of your personnel and also my fans can criticize and talk about it. But why would I have to be ashamed of it? Am I not playing for Bangladesh? Or am I playing for any other country that I must be ashamed of my performance? If I cannot perform then they can drop me -- it is that simple,” concluded Mashrafe.
The Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe series has been built up as the last series of Mashrafe Mortaza. Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan had made it clear that the Zimbabwe series will be the last series of Mortaza as the captain of Bangladesh.
“We have started to stress on beep tests so Mashrafe may not pass the beep tests, so we can drop him if he doesn’t pass it,” he said. “We also have to keep it in mind that Mashrafe’s leadership was vital in the turnaround in Bangladesh cricket. But, the time has come for him to decide how long he wants to play. I think Mashrafe will play the ODI series against Zimbabwe, pending fitness. We will be lenient about his fitness. But very soon, we have to decide on the team and captain for the next World Cup. We don’t have much time. We will take our decision after this ODI series.”
Mortaza had reportedly agreed to retire from international cricket after playing a farewell match in Bangladesh but later on changed his mind, saying that he will keep playing till the time he enjoys the game.
