Image Credit- BCB
In response to criticism levelled at Bangladesh’s
senior cricket players, Mushfiqur Rahim has retaliated, stating that
outstanding team performances in Twenty20 cricket require the fearlessness of
youth as much as experienced hands.
Mushfiqur, 36, cited Fortune Barishal’s victory in Wednesday’s second qualifier
against Rangpur Riders, which allowed them to go to the BPL 2024 final.
Barishal boasts two players older than 35 years old, besides Mushfiqur (36),
who is Mahmudullah (37) and Shoaib Malik (41). Over the season, all three have
made significant contributions.
“Didn’t you say before the tournament that Barishal is the ‘team of the
old’?” Mushfiqur said. “Didn’t you say that T20s can’t be won with
experience? I think this is a wrong concept. You need experience in every
format. New players will come, the older ones will go, but they will combine
well to build the team. We want to leave a legacy, and we want the likes of
[Towhid] Hridoy and Tamim [Tanzid Hasan] to leave a legacy when they become
senior players [for Bangladesh]. It is supposed to be smooth sailing.”
“It [the criticism] doesn’t motivate me,” he
said. “It hurts me. I can guarantee you that I am better than most players
in terms of fitness. I can write it down. More than age, I think the criteria
should be fitness and performance. Age is just a number.”
This season’s three Barishal vs. Rangpur games were
advertised as Shakib Al Hasan vs. Tamim Iqbal bouts, with the crowds repeatedly
jeering both players. When BCB president Nazmul Hassan claimed that Shakib and
Tamim were not on speaking terms last year, the pair’s disagreements were first
revealed. Shakib attacked Tamim in a TV interview when Tamim retired, came out
of retirement, and then quit as the ODI captain.
They both deserved better, Mushfiqur said. “To be honest, if the limelight
is on the two players, then the rest of us can relax. They will have their
‘war’, and we will watch. They are both legends. They have given a lot to
Bangladesh cricket. This ‘bhua bhua’ [a form of booing in Bengali] chant, if
they have to hear it, the rest of us should be buried in the ground.”