“It is nearly impossible to find a captain like him in Bangladesh”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has made it clear that Mashrafe Mortaza will continue on as ODI captain.

Hassan’s comments come nearly a month after the Champions Trophy, where Bangladesh stunned the cricketing community by edging out Australia and New Zealand to reach the semi-finals.

Given the impact Mortaza has had on the national team, Hassan insisted that the board never had any intentions of replacing him as captain.

“Mashrafe is not just a player but also our captain,” Hassan said. “It is nearly impossible to find a captain like him in Bangladesh. He is also performing very well as a pace bowler, better than most of them.

“Look, it is natural to think about replacing cricketers like Shakib and Mushfiqur, but the situation that is being created somehow shows that we are trying to remove Mashrafe today. It is uncomfortable for him and us too. I am saying this clearly: there is no question of dropping him as long as he is willing to play.

“This is not the time for such questions. We have a lot of cricket ahead of us. Imagine what is going through him, especially at a time when we haven’t even found an alternative. Even I feel uncomfortable thinking about his situation: always wondering whether he is going to be in the team or not.”