Despite the numerous injuries restraining his career, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has returned to the field to amaze his supporters in the cricketing world as a player and captain of Bangladesh cricket team. The humbled captain shares his experience with Neebiir Kamaal
SOURAV LASKAR
There are not many individuals in the world, about whom a book has been written. There are even fewer individuals in the world, about whom a book has been written when he is just 32. But whether it is the biography titled Mashrafe by Debbrata Mukherjee, the countless newspaper headlines that feature his name on a regular basis or the unconditional love and support of 160 million Bangladeshis, once you meet him in person, you will be positively convinced that stardom is a concept yet unknown to Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
In an exclusive interview with New Age Youth, Mashrafe talked about the resurging Bangladesh cricket team, his personal struggles and much more.
Mashrafe’s knees have gone under the surgeon’s blades for a total of eight times so far, whereas he has undergone two surgeries on his back and one on his ankle. After the third surgery on his knee, surgeons had told Mashrafe that his cricketing career was over, that his knees could no longer sustain the pressure and weight of his bowling action. Yet he kept coming back! The ever-present threat of succumbing to even more grievous or longer lasting physical damage has not dampened his spirit for the sport. Not only has he been carrying the weight and pressure of his bowling action, but also carrying the heavy responsibility of the whole national team and expectations of 160 million cricket-crazy fans.
As the captain of Bangladesh national cricket team in the One Day Internationals and Twenty20 formats, Mashrafe has led the Tigers to unprecedented heights. For the first time in its uphill battle in the cricket world, Bangladesh is now considered a heavyweight team. In a game against any of the cricketing superpowers like India or Australia today, people can rationally expect a 50 per cent chance of a Bangladesh win.
Although many of the Bangladesh players and international cricket experts have credited Mashrafe’s role as a captain for the team’s groundbreaking success, being as grounded as he is, Mashrafe refuses to take credit for the rise of the national team. ‘It is not because of my captaincy alone that the Bangladesh team has reached the stage where it is now. It has been a combined effort from the whole team. There has been contribution from the coaching staffs and the whole team has been able to maintain a positive mindset,’ says the skipper.
As a player and a human being, Mashrafe has truly mastered the art of resurrection. Due to injuries, he has had to restart from scratch over and over again. ‘Only a pacer knows how difficult it is to come back in the game even if you have been out for only a month due to injury. Each time that I have been out injured, I had to train for six to eight months to simply adjust my run-up. For a fast bowler, run-up is everything,’ Mashrafe says. Due to injuries, Mashrafe has had to be out of the field for months on occasions, even walk with the help of crutches. He had to take special training programmes to incorporate techniques in his bowling action that minimise chances of injury.
‘Fast bowlers dream of taking 300 wickets in their careers. My that dream has died a long time back as I have had to stay off cricket for long spells. But despite the risks of injuries, I play on. For if I didn’t play, what else would I do? The only thing that I have learnt in life is to play cricket, I don’t know how to do anything else. So as long as I can contribute, I will play cricket,’ Mashrafe adds.
Mashrafe has led Bangladesh to 20 victories in ODIs out of the 28 matches that he has captained. Out of the 23 T20 Internationals that he captained, Mashrafe led The Tigers to nine victories. He has also led Comilla Victorians to their first ever Bangladesh Premier League title. But yet the Narail Express – as he is fondly titled – wants to stay grounded on track, as he mentions, ‘We have been doing well in the home games. We have to now focus on doing equally good in the away games.’
Most captains of international teams send an extra fielder at the boundary line when a bowler gets hit for a four. Mashrafe on the other hand, would often do the opposite and bring another fielder in the circle to challenge the batsman even more. Responding to aggression with aggression is something he is appreciated for and yet when asked if he studies different strategies for marshalling his troops on the field, he says, ‘I just go with my gut feeling. I don’t plan things, whether in life or the field. Things have never gone according to plans for me. I just trust my gut feelings and do whatever feels right at any moment. I know that if it goes wrong, I will be the one to be blamed.’
‘Even my marriage was not really planned. I had known her for a long time and have been talking to her for about six months and then suddenly decided to get married, and that seems to be working out great,’ he adds with a laugh.
Mashrafe also mentions that his family and friends, especially his father have been there for him through his most difficult times.
An adept at endurance and perseverance, Mashrafe is not only an inspiration for young cricketers, but youngsters engaged in all walks of life. No matter how big the storm is, as long as it is Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, you can bet that he will come back, every time.