Bangladesh men’s ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza has opted to not be among those who receive central contracts offered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
Following the first board meeting of the year at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Sunday, BCB President Nazmul Hasan said the board wishes to bring a major change to the pool of players along with facilities, and Mashrafe has informed him that the cricketer does not want to be under a central contract any more.
“We were presented with a list of players that are being considered for central contract, but we have asked for it to be updated. It has been advised to include new names in the list if possible. The important part of this agenda was whether Mashrafe would be offered a contract. Ahead of the meeting, I spoke to him over phone and he told me not to keep him on the list,” Nazmul told the media following the four-hour long meeting.
“He wants to remain in the field, but not part of the contract. He [Mashrafe] thinks this will allow someone else to get a contract and we have accepted that. Mashrafe may not be on the list of cricketers who will be offered central contracts,” the BCB chief added.
Discussion in the cricket fraternity has been strong regarding if Mashrafe, who is playing only ODIs for Bangladesh, would decide to finally call it a day during the scheduled home series against Zimbabwe in February. Since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 last year, Mashrafe’s on-field performance has raised many eyebrows over his selection in the national team.
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“We did have a discussion on that and the call to retire has to come from Mashrafe himself. The only thing the board can guarantee is a gorgeous farewell for him,” said Nazmul.
The board in the meeting decided to provide an increment in the international match-fee structure. The match fee for a Test match will be increased to Tk6 lakh from Tk4 lakh, Tk3 lakh for ODI and Tk2 lakh for T20Is.
“Match fees for Test had a significant increase, almost 50 percent. Another major issue we discussed was about taking Bangladesh to the next level and things that are needed for that,” Nazmul said.
The board has taken the development proposal of Ross Turner into consideration, and the former ICC global development manager will start his three-year long camp from this year. Turner will emphasize on educating umpires, coaches and curators and at the same time develop databases and digital resources.
The BCB, in order to mitigate the crisis of number of fields, has shortlisted at least six grounds - Barisal, Sylhet, Keraniganj and two fields in Mymensingh - to be taken under the board and developed to the required level to run matches, including for first-class cricket.