Ramiz Raja, former Pakistan cricketer, and current cricket commentator lauded the fantastic captaincy by Rohit Sharma and Mashrafe Mortaza in the just concluded Asia Cup 2018 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He was one of the commentators in the 14th edition of the Asia Cup here and watched the game from close quarters and has finally come out with his best captain of the tournament on Saturday (Sept 29).
It was a wonderful summit clash at Dubai International Stadium on September 28, as both India and Bangladesh fought tooth and nail to win the title, but it was the Men in Blue, who held their nerves to beat Bangladesh in final for the second consecutive time to clinch their record 7th title.
Meanwhile, Raja has impressed with Rohit’s “outstanding” leadership in the six-nation one day international tournament, but it was Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza whom he picked his Captain of the Asia Cup 2018 in the UAE, saying the way he led the Tigers even without Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal in the tournament with utmost determination and grit is exceptional.
On Saturday, Raja went on his official social media handle to announce the same as well as lauding both skippers for their brilliant captaincy skills in the UAE. He wrote on Twitter, “#AsiaCup2018Final Great final..India were a cut above the rest and the team to beat.. Rohit is an outstanding leader, but for me, the captain of the tournament was Mashrafe Murtaza. He didn’t let Tamim & Shakib’s absence deter his team’s campaign. They almost made it!”
Mortaza is Bangladesh’s most successful captain in ODIs when it comes to a win percentage that his higher than the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Habibul Bashar.
Noteworthy, the Tigers began their 2018 Asia Cup campaign in a winning style, thrashing Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, though they lost to India in the Super Four Stage.
But they outstandingly made comeback against Pakistan in a virtual semi-final, as their 37-run victory set them once again to face India to fight for the trophy.
However, Bangladesh did the brilliant job in the final and was close to winning the title but Indian middle-order snitched the game from the Tigers to win the trophy in Dubai.
Check out here:
#AsiaCup2018Final Great final..India were a cut above the rest and the team to beat.. Rohit is an outstanding leader, but for me, the captain of the tournament was Mashrafe Murtaza. He didn’t let Tamim & Shakib’s absence deter his team’s campaign. They almost made it!
— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) September 28, 2018
