What happened there still embarrasses me: Mashrafe

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was left out of the 2011 cricket world cup at home 201 despite having a positive certificate from the doctor. He broke into tears at Mirpur stadium after being informed about his exclusion from the world cup squad. Mashrafe during his exclusive interview with The Business Standard (TBS) revealed that he still feels embarrassed for what happened there that day and believes the then captain Shakib hardly had anything to do with the decision.

There were rumours that Shakib didn't want Mashrafe in the side. But Mashrafe doesn't think so.

"I don't think the captain had that much influence at that time. I had seen how everything functioned when I was made captain in 2009," Mashrafe told TBS. 

"Dr David Young sent an e-mail to physio Mike Henry where he wrote that my ligament wasn't torn yet and the decision was absolutely mine whether I wanted to risk it or not. Henry conveyed the message to the selectors- chief selector Rafiqul (Alam) Bhai and second selector Akram  (Khan) Bhai. Akram Bhai didn't receive the full e-mail. Now am I responsible for this? How could they decide without even reading the full e-mail," Mashrafe still can't find the answers. 

He mentioned that he went to practice that day assuming he would be picked for the world cup. The news broke when he was practising indoor. When he came to know that he had been excluded from the squad, he broke into tears. Mashrafe admitted that incident still embarrasses him. 

" I went to the ground and what happened there still embarrasses me. I wouldn't have gone there had I knew that I would be dropped."

 Mashrafe injured his right knee again while batting for his club Abahani in a Dhaka Premier Division League match in late 2010.