Former ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza ended all kinds of speculations regarding his fitness to make a comeback to competitive cricket after more than one year on Tuesday.

There were doubts regarding Mashrafe’s return to cricket considering he was out of competitive cricket for 402 days as he last represented Gemcon Khulna in the final match of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup on December 18, 2020.

However, the 38-year-old proved the doubters wrong by featuring for Minister Group Dhaka in their fourth match of the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League T20 against Sylhet Sunrisers.

Mashrafe, who made only two runs off six balls with the bat, finished the game on a high note as he claimed 2-21 in his four overs.

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Mashrafe removed Lendl Simmons (16) in his second over while he later took the wicket of Anamul Haque (45) to finish with the best bowling figure for Dhaka in the match.

However, Dhaka lost the match by seven wickets to Sylhet to concede their third defeat in four matches.

Earlier, the BCB’ decision to put him in the highest category in the player’s draft of BBPL raised quite a few eyebrows due to his absence from cricket.

No franchises showed any interest to buy him as a direct signing only suggested that time was running out for the most experienced campaigner.

Dhaka’s decision to buy him inside the first three calls was taken as a surprise. He also missed Dhaka’s first three matches of the tournament due to injury.

But after getting his fitness, he took no time to return to the field and shone for his team with the ball.

Dhaka skipper Mahmudullah also praised Mashrafe for his commitment and claimed that he’s an inspiration for everyone.

“I think he (Mashrafe) is an inspiration,” said Mahmudullah after the game.

“He worked really hard for his return and really worked hard to improve his skill. He came back after one year and picked two wickets upfront but we failed to perform as an overall unit,” he added.

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