It has been over two years since Mashrafe Mortaza last played for Bangladesh. In this period, Bangladesh have turned around well, produced talented seamers like Shoriful Islam and had much success.
But one thing is still missed, and that is the unmatchable aura of Mashrafe. The former captain of Bangladesh had ‘Leader' written all over his attitude and approach.
Bangladesh recently won their first-ever ODI series in South Africa. But it was under Mashrafe's captaincy when the team first defeated South Africa in a home series.
Mashrafe, often criticised for his horrific World Cup 2019 performance, was one of the biggest reasons behind the turnaround of the Bangladesh Cricket Team in the last decade. Bangladesh had a poor year in 2021 irrespective of formats, and 2022 started with a huge success, as the team defeated the World Test Champions, New Zealand in their own backyard for the first time ever.
The success has been extended to an ODI series win in South Africa now. The last time Bangladesh had such a devastating year was in 2014. The turnaround after that was massive, as the Tigers won all the ODI series against Pakistan, India and South Africa dominatingly.
A clean sweep in the ODI series against Zimbabwe was just the trailer of what was coming in the next year, and Mashrafe's leadership qualities along with his bowling had a huge role to play in it.
He established the belief in the dressing room that, "We can, and we should win." Nasir Hossain, the former Bangladesh all-rounder once said, "The way Mash talks with the guys in the field and dressing room gives us huge mental strength and motivation."
When Mashrafe announced that he was about to step down as a skipper, Shakib al Hasan came up with the following words,
"You epitomise what a true leader and warrior is meant to be. Despite all the obstacles which came your way, you are always encouraging us to believe in ourselves and play with heart and pride. It has been an incredible journey and you have been nothing short of brilliant."
The words ‘A true leader’ went so well with Mashrafe Mortaza. He went on to inspire the youngsters of a whole generation to become fast bowlers.
Today's Taskin Ahmed, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury grew up idolising Mashrafe. Mashrafe may have lost a big portion of his abilities to injuries. He is highly likely to never play an international match again, for obvious reasons.
But one thing is certain, the atmosphere his presence created in the dressing room, the ability he had to unite the team and believe in themselves is still missed.
