Bangladesh former captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza revealed one of the painful memories of his career. The right-pacer was left out of the World Cup 2011 due to an injury, but Mashrafe had claimed he was fit enough to play.
On Saturday night, Mashrafe joined Tamim Iqbal’s Facebook Live session with Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad.
During the session, Tamim asked Masrhafe to say something about the incident, UNB reports.
“It was my biggest dream to play in the World Cup 2011 since it was hosted by Bangladesh. But I was left out due to injury which was not serious. The team was announced more than one and a half month before the World Cup, so I had enough time to get the full fitness. Despite that fact, I was left out. I couldn’t control my emotion after being excluded from the World Cup. I broke down before the media,” Mashrafe said.
“But when I think about the memory now, it doesn’t feel that bad. I believe in the return of that World Cup, I got my wife back to my life. Many don’t know this story. My wife was announced clinically dead during that World Cup. She needed me to stay by her. Had I been busy in the World Cup, I couldn’t have got enough time to help her during the toughest time of her life. So it gives me immense contentment that I had time to help my wife when she needed me the most,” Mashrafe added.
The most successful captain of Bangladesh history also revealed another story about his exclusion from the World Cup 2011. He said right before the World Cup, his surgeon Dr David Young sent a two-page report to the then physio of Bangladesh team Micheal Henry who had mistakenly read only one page and missed another what contains decisive information.
After reading the first page of that report, Henry reported to the selectors that Mashrafe has no chance to play due to his injury, he said.
Later on, Masrhafe called Dr Young and asked about his report. Young told him about the two-page report. Masrhafe then went to Henry and asked him to see the report fully. Henry apologised to Masrhafe, but by then the team had already been announced.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad played that World Cup and both of them agreed on this that Mashrafe had deserved a place in the World Cup 2011.
However, Masrhafe led the Tigers in the next two World Cups in Australia (2015) and England (2019). He finished his captaincy earlier this year as the best ever captain of Bangladesh. He got enough memories to erase the painful memory of 2011.