'Life has no guarantee'

Tributes have been pouring in for the late cricketer Mosharraf Hossain Rubel following his death on Tuesday. Rubel had been receiving treatment for a brain tumour for a long time. A rumour surfaced a few days ago that he had passed away but his family stated that he was in a much better condition then. 

Shakib Al Hasan, who played alongside Rubel in the national team and in the BPL for Dhaka Gladiators, thought that his teammate would come round soon after he returned home from hospital just days ago. 

But life had other ideas for Rubel. His demise at the age of 40 shocked the cricket fraternity. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2019. He recovered after receiving treatment for one and a half years. But an MRI earlier this year suggested that the tumour had once again started to grow. Since then, he had been receiving chemotherapy.

During his illness, he received great mental and financial support from his teammates. Shakib Al Hasan's company Monarch Mark handed over BDT 15 lakh to his family when was admitted at United Hospital. 

Shakib returned to the country to take part in the DPL and upcoming Sri Lanka series. On his return, he spoke to the media about Rubel's tragic death.

"It's really sad. I was in the USA. I saw in the news that he had been taken home from the hospital. I was relieved, thinking that he would somehow survive," he said.

"Even I told someone that probably because of age, he was able to survive. Then suddenly… I was in the plane when I heard the news. Life has no guarantee," Shakib said.

Rubel made his international debut for Bangladesh in 2008 against South Africa. He played five ODIs for the team. A domestic heavyweight, the left-arm spinner picked up 392 wickets in 112 first-class matches. His last appearance for Bangladesh came in 2016 against England.