Mashrafe to stand in election

Published November 13, 2018
Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza. — AP/File
Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza. — AP/File

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza will stand in next month’s election, the ruling party announced Monday, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina endorsed the superstar’s foray into politics.

A photograph of 35-year-old Mashrafe, who enjoys rockstar status in cricket-mad Bangladesh, alongside Hasina ran on the front pages of many newspapers in the South Asian nation of 160 million.

A spokesman for Hasina’s Awami League said Mashrafe had been given the “green light” from the prime minister, who is seeking a third consecutive term in office on Dec 30.

“He plans to contest from Narail,” said spokesman Mahbubul Alam Hanif, referring to Mashrafe’s hometown district in western Bangladesh.

Mashrafe has not commented publicly on his running for the Awami League.

Cricketing authorities said there was no prohibition on active players trying their hand at politics.

“To run in an election is his constitutional right. If he wants to exercise these rights, we have no issue,” Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.

“We expect him to keep the balance between his playing career and politics.”

An alliance of opposition parties led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will contest the election, despite their leader and thousands of supporters locked behind bars.

Cricketers moving into politics is nothing new in South Asia, where star players command god-like devotion from millions of fans. However it is rare for a sitting player to make the change.

Mashrafe is widely expected to retire after the World Cup in 2019.

He has already retired from T20 International cricket and has not played a Test match since 2009.

Some fans welcomed his decision but others worried it would tarnish his reputation.

“I may be wrong, but this is the worst decision of his life,” one fan, Omar Faruq, wrote on Mashrafe’s fan page on Facebook.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.