Mashrafe Mortaza: Emiliano Martinez's body language never suggested he is a star

I was thrilled to be invited to meet Emiliano Martinez. But it was nothing compared to my kids. When they heard about the prospect of meeting him, their joy knew no bounds. They were very excited, so much so that they couldn't sleep last night. They were up until 3 o'clock in the morning. They were saying, "Baba, we are so excited that we cannot sleep".

I have been an Argentina fan since childhood. I started supporting Argentina after watching Diego Maradona. My love for the Argentina football team sometimes goes beyond love, often it's just madness. But I never really wanted to meet any Argentine footballer face-to-face. Lionel Messi was part of the Argentina team that visited Bangladesh. But going close to these guys or meeting them is not my thing. 

I went because NEXT Ventures invited me. But more than that, I went because of my kids. The program was scheduled to begin at 10 am in their office but they later informed the revised time which was 9 am. So we got ready quickly and headed to the venue. An interview featuring Martinez, Zunaid Ahmed Polok bhai was supposed to take place.

I reached Badda quickly but missed the interview segment as I was unable to find the exact location of the office initially. Polok bhai introduced me to Martinez. He asked, " Cricket is very popular in Bangladesh, right?" I replied, "Yes. Football is very popular too, and so is Argentina."

There were so many people and so I couldn't talk to him much longer. I spoke to him about the support Argentina get in Bangladesh and showed him some pictures of people celebrating their World Cup win.

My kids -Humyra and Sahel - told me beforehand that they would ask for autographs and pictures. They were reminding me of it repeatedly. But it was slightly embarrassing to ask because he had to respond to requests of so many people. Then I asked and he obliged happily. He covered a part of the crowd and came to us himself. Sahel got his T-shirt signed. Humayra brought her Argentina shirt to get it signed. 

They were over the moon, kissing the signed part of the shirts and watching the pictures. But I didn't have my picture taken with him. I don't enjoy this. I was there for some 20 minutes. He seemed very down-to-earth. He didn't present himself as a star. His body language never suggested that he won the World Cup. He gave autographs, got clicked with fans very spontaneously. 

I looked forward to attending the interview segment. I would have asked him how he felt before and after saving the Randal Kolo Muani shot, and secondly, if he felt he would be the hero in the shootout after that magnificent save. But I could not attend on time. But there is no regret. I felt really happy meeting and talking to him.

I couldn't find anything to give him as a present. I thought a lot and then decided to give him a Bangladesh shirt that I wore.