Mashrafe gearing up for BPL
Mashrafe will feature in the league for Dhaka Platoon which also includes players like Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shahid Afridi and Thisara Perera.
Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is preparing hard ahead of the special edition of Bangladesh Premier League - Bangabandhu BPL which is scheduled to be played from December 11.
Mashrafe will feature in the league for Dhaka Platoon which also includes players like Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shahid Afridi and Thisara Perera.
The 36-year-old pacer was avoided by this year's BPL teams in the first seven rounds of players' calling in the player draft but Dhaka Platoon roped him in in the eighth round, for the special edition of BPL.
Mashrafe played his last competitive cricket match during the World Cup 2019 in England against Pakistan at Lord's. Since then, he has been busy in his political works. But now, the Bangladesh ODI captain is preparing hard for BPL.
"I hope Mashrafe will play the whole league. He is now gearing up to back to his best form. He bowled a few overs today. It is difficult for him to get the rhythm back, but he will certainly get that," Mohammad Salahuddin, the Dhaka Platoon coach told the media on Saturday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
"He is trying to get fitter than before. We might have not seen that, but he is trying personally. He is motivated to do well in BPL," Salahuddin added.
Like Mashrafe, Tamim is also set to back to competitive cricket with the BPL. Tamim is out of action since the Sri Lanka tour which has taken place right after the World Cup. Salahuddin believes the long gap cannot destroy their experience.
"They are experienced cricketers. They have been playing at the top level of the game for 10-15 years. So a long gap will not destroy their experience. I think they are capable enough to do well in BPL," Salahuddin added.