Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (
Bengali:
মাশরাফি বিন মুর্তজা) (born 5 October 1983 in
Narail District) is a
Bangladeshi international
cricketer, and current captain of the One Day Internationals for
Bangladesh national cricket team. He is also a former T20I captain, until his retirement. He broke into the national side in late 2001 against
Zimbabwe and represented Bangladesh before having played a single
first-class match. Mortaza captained his country in one Test and seven One Day Internationals (ODIs) between 2009 and 2010, however injury meant he was in and out of the side and
Shakib Al Hasan was appointed captain in Mortaza's absence.
Mortaza used to be considered one of the fastest bowlers produced by Bangladesh, previously
bowling in the mid-135s km/h in the 2000s,
[3]and regularly opens the bowling. He is a useful
lower-middle order batsman, with a first-class
century and three
Test half centuries to his name. Mortaza's career has been hampered by injuries and he has undergone a total of ten operations on his knees and ankles.
Mortaza retired from Test cricket in 2009 due to continuous back injuries and continued to play in shorter formats. On 4 April 2017, he announced his intentions to retire from T20Is as well. He retired from all T20Is on 6 April 2017.
Mortaza was born in the
district of Narail in south-west Bangladesh. Although he enjoyed playing sports such as
football and
badminton from a young age—sometimes going swimming in the nearby River Chitra instead of doing school work
[7]—In between playing cricket, Mortaza got himself admitted into Department of Philosophy at the
Jahangirnagar University in 2003-04 session for his bachelor's degree. Mortaza was more interested in cricket as a youth, especially batting. In spite of this, his bowling is now his main attribute and his pace has gained him the nickname of the "Narail Express".
Mortaza has been described as an open and animated character who enjoys motorcycling. He used to travel from a local bridge onto the tops of passing goods barges. He is very popular in his home town, leading to him being dubbed their "Prince of Hearts"
] At Govt. Victoria College, Narail, Mortaza met Sumona Haque Shumi, whom he married in 2006. He has a daughter now. His daughter's name is Humaira Mortaza. He also becomes a father of a son at 5 October 2014 named Sahil.
After the Test series against Zimbabwe and one against
New Zealand, Mortaza missed the series against
Pakistan in January 2002 as he was suffering from a back injury. While recovering, Mortaza suffered a knee injury while skipping and required an operation. As a result, he was unable to play cricket for a further eight months. At this stage of his career, Mortaza had played four Tests and taken 12 wickets at an
average of 31.16.
Mortaza did not return to international cricket until the
2003 World Cup in South Africa during 2003. Bangladesh failed to progress past the round-robin stage, and Mortaza played in two matches collecting two wickets at an average of 38.00.
In October and November 2003,
England toured Bangladesh for two-Tests and three ODIs.In the second Test, Mortaza took what at the time was his best Test figures of 4/60
[18] before succumbing to injury, collapsing with a twisted knee
after delivering the ball] Despite challenging England in the series, Bangladesh lost 2–0, Mortaza finished the series with 8 wickets at an average of 21.25.
] As a result, he was again out of international cricket; this time for over a year. Injuries in the first three years of his international career saw Mortaza only play 12 Tests and not more than four in a row.
Mortaza returned from his career threatening injury and, after impressing in Bangladesh domestic cricket, he was selected in the 13-man squad to face
India in a home two-Test series during December 2004.
[22] He announced his return to Test cricket in the first Test at Dhaka by dismissing
Rahul Dravid. He bowled consistently in the series and nearly dismissed
Sachin Tendulkar and
Sourav Ganguly, but
catches were dropped.
[3] Cricinfo noted that in the second Test he "toiled manfully again with wretched back-up".
[23] Mortaza finished the series with five wickets at an average of 37.00, although Bangladesh lost 2–0.
[24] In the following ODI series, Mortaza played an instrumental role in Bangladesh's 16 run defeat of India in the second ODI on 26 December 2004. He was awarded the
man of the match for his all-round performance—taking two wickets, two catches and scoring 31
not out. The match was Bangladesh's 100th ODI and Mortaza's first one-day cricket in 15 months.
[25] Bangladesh went on to lose the series 2–1.
In January 2005 Zimbabwe toured Bangladesh, playing two Tests and five ODIs. Bangladesh won the Test series one Test to nil, their first series victory in Test cricket. In addition, Bangladesh's victory in the first Test at the
MA Aziz Stadium was their first Test win. In the final innings of the first match, Mortaza took the ninth wicket and with victory imminent he struggled to bowl the next ball and had to wipe away tears and regain his composure before starting his run up.Despite a sore back in the second Test, Mortaza continued to bowl. In the two Tests, Mortaza scored 93 runs at an average of 31.00 and took nine wickets at an average of 24.88. In a close ODI series, Bangladesh won 3–2 after being 2–0 down, Mortaza played in four matches and took four wickets at an average of 40.00.
Playing for Khulna Division against
Sylhet Division in March 2005, Mortaza scored his maiden first-class century. Batting at
number four in his team's second innings, Mortaza scored 132 not out from 140 balls; the innings far surpassing his previous best first-class score of 70, and was named man of the match.
Mortaza enhanced his reputation on
Bangladesh's inaugural tour of England,and was the team's leading bowler, although his team lost the two-match Test series 2–0. He was by far the most economical of the Bangladeshi bowlers, conceding on average nearly half a run less per over than the next best bowler. Mortaza finished the series with four wickets at 49.50 and was the team's leading wicket taker. He consistently troubled the English batsmen, repeatedly beating the bat. A ODI tri-series followed in which Bangladesh recorded their maiden win against
Australia. Mortaza's bowling was important in Bangladesh's huge upset against Australia in
Cardiff, removing
Adam Gilchrist for a duck and conceding 33 runs from 10 overs as Bangladesh won by five wickets. At the end of the tour, Mortaza was described as "Bangladesh's solitary cutting edge", underlining how important his bowling is to the team.
Mortaza was selected as a reserve player for the Asian squad in the inaugural
Afro-Asia Cup. He was later drafted into the full squad as a replacement for the unavailable
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. With batsman
Mohammad Ashraful, he was one of two Bangladeshi players in the 15-man squad.
Sultan Rana, the Asia team manager, described Mortaza as "a very promising prospect, a terrific asset to the Bangladesh team" He played two of the three ODIs where he took Shaun Pollock's wicket in the first one.
Pitches in Bangladesh are generally slow and suit spin bowling; the domestic circuit is dominated by spin bowlers and former Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons suggested the pitches discourages the emergence of fast bowlers. Despite this in April 2008 Mortaza became the second Bangladesh bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs and the first fast bowler from the team to pass the landmark. For a long time Mortaza was acclaimed as the fastest bowler that Bangladesh had produced, however
Shahadat Hossain is now considered quicker.
[134] Mortaza uses his aggressive bowling to challenge batsmen. Although a naturally aggressive player, his accurate bowling has led to comparisons with Australian fast-bowler
Glenn McGrath. He has been described by commentators as having "a strong sturdy physic ... sheer pace and stamina with an aggressive frame of mind".
[9] After his knee injury, Mortaza was forced to alter his
bowling action slightly, and lost some pace. He has tried to develop his use of
reverse swing in an attempt to become a more effective bowler.
Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has stated that he believes Mortaza does not get the bowling figures he deserves because "opposing teams tend to see him off and then attack the others". Mortaza has also commented that "it always puts pressure on the bowlers when their side is bowled out cheaply in the first innings", something that the Bangladesh batting line-up has sometimes struggled with.
Although primarily a bowler, Mortaza is an aggressive batsman as demonstrated by his high Test match
strike rate of 67.25. He holds Bangladeshi records for highest strike rate in Tests and ODIs, and for scoring the most runs in an ODI over (26 runs including four sixes). Mortaza's batting is characterised by a reluctance to get in line with the bowling and he prefers to take a step towards square leg to facilitate his powerful shots. He has suffered a plethora of injuries, in his own words from 2007: "Left knee, three operations; right knee, one operation; back, stress fracture—it's better now but still gives some trouble—some shoulder problems; ankles, damaged ligaments twice". Since then he has suffered further injury, and in total has undergone four surgeries on his left knee and three on his right, and three on his ankles.
On 4 April 2017, Mortaza announced his retirement from twenty20 internationals after
Sri Lanka tour. Mashrafe played his last T20I on 6 April 2017 against Sri Lanka in
R. Premadasa Stadium. Though he was dismissed as the second victim in
Lasith Malinga's hatrick for naught, Mashrafe took a wicket in the match and guided the team to victory in his last T20I outing.
