No space for Mohammad Ashraful in the Bangladesh Team at the moment, says Chief selector Minhajul Abedin

"There is now nothing preventing me from being eligible for national selection", says Ashraful.

Ashraful was slapped a five-year ban in July 2014 | Getty Images

Bangladesh Chief selector Minhajul Abedin has clearly said that they are not seeing the former Captain Mohammad Ashraful at the national side anytime soon.

 Ashraful's five-year ban from international cricket for his involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing during the 2013 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) will officially come to an end on Monday (13 August) and will be eligible for the national selection.

But Abedin believes that it will be really a tough task for Ashraful to make comeback at International cricket after a long break from the game. He also stated that Bangladesh Cricket Board is not thinking about Ashraful anywhere in the national team at the moment, saying he has to prove his fitness for international cricket and it will take nearly a year to get to know his state.

As per reports in Cricbuzz, Abedin told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday (12 August), “He [Ashraful] has not been in the international circuit for a long time now. So he now has to play all the formats in domestic cricket and will also have to prove his fitness for international cricket -- that is very important. His suspension will be lifted and he will get to play all the formats. Maybe after a year we will get to know his state.”

However, Bangladesh chief selector said that age is really not a factor for Ashraful for national selection if he proves his fitness but he has to go through the system to play for the country again.

He signed off by saying, “To be honest he does not have a space [in the national pipeline] at this point. He is not attached with the system -- of playing in HP, A team -- so he is far from the national team right now. You need to give a player time to go through the journey and achieve the level.”

 

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 13 Aug, 2018

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