Mashrafe Mortaza urges BCB to reward Taskin Ahmed monetarily for missing IPL
Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza wants the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to provide monetary compensation to Taskin Ahmed for not letting him participate in the IPL. The former right-arm seamer also observed that all the hard work done by the seamer during the COVID-induced break has reaped rewards.
BCB denied a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to Taskin Ahmed for missing the ODI series against South Africa. This was after IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants approached him to replace their injured pacer Mark Wood. Earlier, Mustafizur Rahman had also offered words of consolation to his teammate for missing out on the IPL.
Alhamdulillah. Series won against South Africa,
Man of the series 🏆
Man of the match 🏆
Keep me in your prayer 🤲 https://t.co/SLJQA5E6Hf
When asked for his opinion, Mortaza strongly argued for a compensatory reward for Taskin Ahmed. He thinks such compensation is an incentive for players to keep giving their best.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, when asked about the possibility of a monetary reward for Taskin, the former Bangladesh captain was quoted as saying:
"Certainly. If you look at ECB and see what they are doing with Anderson and Broad, it's not compensation, it's just a reward that they are playing for the country, instead of playing in the IPL. By doing this, what happens is that players have a good feeling that board is seeing their welfare."
Taskin Ahmed has delivered impressive performances in international cricket of late, most recently against the Proteas. The 26-year-old claimed the Player of the Series award in a historic ODI series victory in South Africa. He took eight wickets in three games, including a fifer in the final ODI at Centurion.
"He did hard work during Covid, so now he is getting results" - Mashrafe Mortaza
Mortaza underlined that all his rewards are due to the hard yards put in during the COVID-induced break. Nevertheless, he remains keen to see how Taskin Ahmed carries himself amid the fans' and media's attention. The veteran added:
"Of course, Taskin's hard work has paid off. He did hard work during COVID, so now he is getting results. I think he is now passing through his prime, but the most important thing is how he controls, because there will be a different environment when he returns as media, fans, and everyone will be following him. The important thing for him is controlling these things, keeping his feet on the ground and keep on doing what he is doing now. I think he has to realize that his job is only inside the ground... not outside."
Following the ODI series victory, the young paceman will focus on the Tests to prove his red-ball credentials. The first of the two Tests against the Proteas begins on March 31st in Durban.
Bangladesh will fancy their chances of upsetting South Africa in the Test series as well. The Proteas will be without many of their key players who have decided to play in the IPL instead of the upcoming Test series.
In 2019, an unfancied Sri Lanka had managed to defeat South Africa in their own backyard 2-0 in a Test series. Bangladesh would look to pull off a similar upset. With the victory in the ODI series in their bag, the Asian side would be raring to go.