Mushfiqur’s issue should be handled carefully: Mashrafe

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza urged the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to deal with the Mushfiqur Rahim's issue carefully, considering the fact that the senior player has been the country's best batsman at the moment.

The team management of late was under criticism by taking the decision to drop Mushfiqur Rahim from the third and final ODI series against Zimbabwe, which will be held tomorrow (Friday) at the Sylhet International
Cricket Stadium.

The chief selector Minhajul Abedin explained that they wanted to field a side against Zimbabwe, which would play the one-off ODI against Pakistan.

According to Abedin, since Mushfiqur opted against touring Pakistan, he should be dropped from the team in a bid to give another player a chance to play.

Mashrafe said the board should not do anything which could adversely affect Mushfiqur Rahim. "Those are technical issues which a captain can't give away. What I think personally is that Mushfiqur Rahim's contribution to the team is immense. Even if he is in a bad patch, he should be considered always given the number of runs he has scored. I am sure at No.4 position Mushfiqur Rahim is now the No.1 batsman in the world," Mashrafe added.

"If you consider all those factors, you should make it sure that he won't feel any pressure. He has been performing consistently for the last 12/13 years. You should make sure he is not affected and feel psychological pressure by any decision," he added.

Mashrafe believes if the team management could amicably discuss with Mushfiqur regarding this issue, this could be solved in an easier way.

"You have to make him understand softly so that he can understand the process you want to go through. If he and the team management could reach an amicable position, it will be better. Since he is a senior player, the board should discuss with him and keep him mentally charged up."