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Onus is on Mashrafe

Ameeruddin Zain
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. William Shakespeare's age old observation was epitomized by the just-former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful.
In his tenure as captain, Ashraful let the pressures of captaincy get to him to the extent that he failed at both leading the side and delivering with the bat. Henceforth the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had to relieve him off his duties and hand it over to his deputy Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.
So, the not quite envious task of putting Bangladesh cricket on the rails of consistency and restore some lost pride now falls on the shoulders of Mashrafe.
After an ordinary outing at the recently concluded ICC World Twenty20 in England the time is ripe for Mashrafe to realize that if there was ever a time more apt to bring about a change in the right direction; this is thehourand he is the man for it.
Mashrafe is an aggressive cricketer. He has also seen the highs and the lows of cricket and has gone from strength to strength since making his comeback in 2003 after spending more than a year in the wilderness. He has since produced some match winningspells for theTigers.
Popularly known as the Narail express, Mashrafe has stood tall over his problems and is an inspirational captain at the domestic level for his team Abahani whom he has led to two consecutive Premier Cricket League victories.
And now it will be his responsibility to ensure every player puts in his best possible effort when turning up for Bangladesh.
The majority of the team is still far from self-confident and assured in their own abilities whenever pitted against a major opposition. Even though the body has the firepower, what any one worth his salt will tell you is this -- it is no good unless you believe it yourself.
And arduous as it may sound, it will be Mashrafe's responsibility to ensure every player puts in his best, believes in himself and fights tooth and nail to the end.
It will be easy for people to say that lauding his appointment as the cap- tain and highlighting his abilities or putting forth his leadership potential is just going to put extra pressure on the man. But since when has playing for your country or leading it come without the baggage of pressure and expectations?
Mashrafe's first big assignment will be the tour to West Indies next month. The pitches will be flat and the opposition will be hostile as the West Indians are in good form beating England 1 -0 at home. How he uses the resources at his disposal, what strategies he employs on the field and how well he takes the pressure of captaincy will surely test his nerves.
But what he will need to stop first and foremost as the chieftain of the team is the practice of players going out there to make a meek 20 or 30 or bowl six homogenous deliveries to secure themselves a place in the next match.
Mashrafe for us is the only player who can hold his head high while the Tamims, Shakibs, Zunaeds and Rubels play without beingcrippled by thefear of failure. The only fear the rest of the country would have is that the new role will not make his head uneasy and reduce him to ASHes.