Mashrafe Mortaza took a break from the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 to focus on his political career. Earlier this month, the 40-year-old cricketer, who plies his trade for the Awami League, was elected for the second time in Bangladesh’s general elections.
“Mashrafe will be available to play for the Strikers further in the season if there is an opportunity in between his political commitments and schedule,” the Strikers said in a statement on Wednesday, January 31.
“Sylhet Strikers franchise has extended gratitude to Mashrafe for his commitment to the team in the tournament so far and looks forward to have him back when he is able,” the statement added.
Mortaza recently captained the Sylhet Strikers in the tournament and played 5 matches and picked up only 1 wicket at an economy rate of 7.73. He also batted in the top order a couple of times, but without much success.
Who has replaced Mashrafe Mortaza in BPL 2024?
The Strikers have named wicketkeeper Mohammad Mithun as their skipper for the time being. Mithun hasn’t been in great form either as he has scored 46 runs from 4 matches at an average of 11.50 and a strike-rate of 117.94 with a top score of 40 to his name.
Mashrafe has faced criticism of late for playing the game despite not being on top of his fitness. He has bowled with a short run-up as he keeps struggling with his dodgy knee. Former skipper Mohammad Ashraful said that Mashrafe playing in this stage was “belittling the BPL”.
The Strikers have had a disastrous campaign thus far as they are languishing at the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -1.542 after losses in all five of their matches. Their next match is against Durdanto Dhaka on Friday, February 2 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
