Sports
Mashrafe Mortaza Bangabandhu T20 Cup: Khulna gets Mashrafe Mortaza in lottery
Dhaka, December 7: Bangladesh's cricket legend Mashrafe Mortaza will be playing in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup after Jemcon Khulna got him following a lottery between them and Fortune Barisal, Beximco Dhaka and Minister Group Rajshahi.
Mashrafe's participation in the ongoing competition becae clear after he passed the beep test on Sunday afternoon.
Although Fortune Barisal was the first to express interest, Beximco Dhaka, Minister Group Rajshahi and Jemcon Khulna entered the race one by one. As a result, the lottery had to decide the fate of Mashrafe.
Khulna eventually got him on Sunday evening.
As a result, all three of the Panchpandabs (the big five) fell into one team. Along with Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah Riyadh, Mashrafe will now play for Khulna. However, Mashrafe will have to test Covid-19 negative to join the team's bio-bubble.
Apart from the representatives of the four parties, Chief Executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury Sujan and Chairman of the Media Committee Jalal Yunus were also present in the lottery process. Four coupons with the names of the four teams are placed in a pot. Jalal Yunus picked up one from there, where the name of Jamcon Khulna was written.
Naturally, Mashrafe will be considered as an 'A' category player. However, Mashrafe will not get a full salary of Tk 15 lakh in this category. Khulna will pay him according to the number of matches he will play. If Corona passes the test, Mashrafe can be seen on the field in Tuesday's match.
At the end of the lottery to explain the team to Mashrafe, Jalal Yunus said, "You have seen that more than one party has shown interest. That is why the lottery has been held to maintain transparency. So that the level playing field is maintained. All teams had equal opportunities in the lottery. Everyone has tokens in their name. The lottery has been held in front of the representatives of all the parties. Where Khulna got Mashrafe."
He added, "We are happy that Mashrafe is back. We want to see him on the field. He is a very hardworking player. Whichever team he plays, I believe he will do well. Good luck to him always. Mashrafe is one of our icon players. Whichever team you play for, he is a big inspiration. Mashrafe himself inspires everyone, even if he is not the captain, he will be able to do his job from the front."
