& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Mash wants to play Test, not T20I: Hassan

Sports Reporter
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan came out with his now customary post-debacle revelations, informing that he had asked Tigers' ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to return to the T20I side for the tour-concluding two-match series against Sri Lanka, while speaking to reporters in his Beximco office in Dhanmondi yesterday.
"We talked regarding Mashrafe's return to the T20s today [yesterday], but it depends on Mashrafe himself," Hassan said when asked whether the board would ask Mashrafe to make a return to theT20 side.
"Everyone told me that if I ask him [Mashrafe] he might reconsider his decision as we still believe that Mashrafe is the best option for us with the new ball alongside Mustafizur Rahman. But I can't force him and I can only ask him if he agrees. I have asked him to return in the two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka but nothing forcefully, while he said that he wants to play Test cricket but notT20. So the matter did notroll further," Hassan added.
34-year-old Mashrafe retired from T2OIs in April last year in Sri Lanka, and it was then understood that he was persuaded into the decision by the powers that be which included the board president and the then coach Chandika Hathurusingha, both of whom wanted the shortest format to be an avenue of blooding youngsters. The fast bowler from Narail last played a Test against West Indies at Kingstown in July 2009, and since then repeated operations on his troublesome knees thought to have ruled him out of the grind of the longest version of the game.
Meanwhile when The Daily Star contacted Mashrafe regarding the issue, he was not willing to make any comment. However there were talks of his return to the shortest format of the game in the past but Mashrafe has always brushed aside any such chance. However, it has been learnt that the board is likely to put pressure on Mashrafe to reconsider his stance.
Bangladesh's grim results this year came after former coach Hathurusingha quit midway through a disastrous tour of South Africa in September-October last year. While planning for the ODI tri-series and the subsequent bilateral series against Sri Lanka, Hassan had said in early January that in the absence of Hathurusingha's replacement, senior players would act as coaches.
"The players themselves said that they could take on the role of a coach, ” Hassan said. "But now I see that they cannot be given that liberty. I just can't take the fact that we were unable to chase the target of 220 in the final of the tri-series at our home soil," Hassan added.
Hassan also said that work was going on for finding a new head coach but it is highly unlikely that a new coach would be appointed before the NidahasTrophy.
"We are still trying for a new coach and we have contacted with two probable candidates yesterday [Monday]. No one is willing to leave the Indian Premier League and join here as full time coach, so it's difficult but we are still trying to bring a head coach before the Nidahas Trophy. After watching the series I can say that we need a head coach immidiately. We can't say anything until we sit for a meeting in person but I can say that we are at the final stage for getting a new coach," Hassan said.
The BCB boss informed that there will be a fast bowling camp ahead of the Nidahas Trophy comprising 14 pacers and five batsmen starting from tomorrow.
Hassan sat for a meeting with chief selector Minhajul Abedin and Habibul Bashar along with technical director Khaled Mahmud, bowling coach Courtney Walsh and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan regarding the Nidahas Trophy comprising India, host Sri Lanka and Bangladesh which is scheduled to start from March 6.