The relationship between cricketers and administration of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been sour-of-late, due to the long-standing payment dispute.
Now, veteran fast-bowler Mashrafe Mortaza lambasted BCB for forcing him into his retirement. The old-warhorse of Bangladesh cricket nitpicked the arrangement for a special match to bid farewell to the veteran.
Reports of Mortaza hanging up his boots started gaining momentum since the conclusion of the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
Bangladesh cricket team’s bowling coach Otis Gibson urged Mortaza to retire as head coach Russell Domingo does not see him in his plans for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Therefore, Mortaza expressed his displeasure regarding the manner in which he was treated despite his services for the country.
The former Bangladeshi captain holds a prestigious win-percentage of 56.32, leading the Tigers to 49 wins from 87 games.
“Honestly speaking it seemed that there was a rush to bid me farewell and it was certainly hurting. They had to arrange a match to bid me farewell and it was not a normal match. Arranging a special match in a hurry is something else for which they were prepared to spend BDT Two Crores for that match,” Mortaza told Cricbuzz.
Given the stance of underpaid domestic cricketers in Bangladesh, Mortaza believes that it was unethical to organize the match with such a huge sum of money.
Also, Mashrafe objected to the board’s questioning about his salary. The 36-year-old affirmed that he never played for money.
“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,” he said.
Further, the Jessore-born felt hurt about the rumour-mongering Bangladesh regarding the team playing with ‘nine and half-players’ in the World Cup.
“What was worse is that they spread rumours 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,” Mortaza concluded.
