Full Name: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza

Affiliation: Bangladesh Awami League

Current Position: Incumbent Member of Parliament

Date of Birth: October 5, 1983

Place of Birth: Bangladesh

Home District: Narail

Constituency: 94, Narail-2

Term: First (11th-2018)

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Profile:

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (born 5 October 1983) is a Bangladeshi cricketer and politician, the former Test, ODI and T20 captain of the Bangladesh national cricket team and incumbent Member of Parliament representing Narail-2 constituency. He is one of the 100 greatest athletes in the world in the "World Fame 100" conducted by ESPN. He is the 5th bowler to take 100 ODI wickets as captain.

Mashrafe was born in Narail, a district in southwestern Bangladesh. From childhood, he preferred to play football and badminton instead of studying hard and sometimes used to swim in the river Chitra. Early in his youth he developed an interest in cricket, particularly batting. Although now he is more famous as a first bowler, which is why he is also called 'Narail Express'. Mashrafe is very popular in his hometown Narail. He was called the "Prince of Hearts" there. He met Sumna Haque Sumi while studying at the Government Victoria College in the same city. The two got married in 2006. They have two children.

Mashrafe completed his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) from Narail Government High School in 1999 and his Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) from Narail Victoria College in 2001. He obtained his bachelor's degree within the Department of Philosophy at the Jahangirnagar University in 2003–04.

Mashrafe first came into attention during an under-17 regional tournament in 2001 when he bowled fast, slammed sixes and dived around without a care in the world.

Mashrafe's entry also sparked plenty of enthusiasm because he was the first genuine fast bowler to emerge from Bangladesh since their entry into Test cricket in 2000. He was sent to a camp conducted by West Indian great Andy Roberts, who proclaimed that Mashrafe had a great future. The selectors fast-tracked his growth and within a few months, during which he played four games for Bangladesh A in India, the young man from far-off Narail took the new-ball against visiting Zimbabwe. Soon it was clear that he had what it takes: Mashrafe was making the likes of Grant Flower jump around due to his pace, a first for a Bangladeshi fast bowler.

But another thing was also clear to those who observed him - his rickety bowling action. Feet and arms landed in the wrong arcs, and soon the injuries set in. And that has been the story of his career. Mashrafe has missed more games for Bangladesh than he has played ever since his 2001 debut. He has had seven operations on his legs, knees and ankles, which have taking a beating - first due to poor handling by captains who gave him long and ill-adviced bowling spells, and then due to freakish accidents.

After many missed games in between the odd fiery spell, Mashrafe rose to prominence in 2004, when he helped Bangladesh beat India for the first time. He was ever-present when Bangladesh pushed Australia but dropped the crucial catch of Ricky Ponting that cost the home side a win. But he made up the following year when his four-wicket haul destroyed India in the 2007 World Cup game at Port-of-Spain. Mashrafe's early strikes have always helped Bangladesh, none more so than in the 2009 tri-series final when he and Nazmul Hossain sunk Sri Lanka to a new low - six runs for five wickets. Bangladesh lost the game but Mashrafe was tremendous in his ten overs.

Mashrafe was made captain in mid-2009 but in his first Test in charge, fell over and injured his knee. When he returned the next year, he led Bangladesh to a win against England in the summer of 2010 before falling over once again in his home debut as captain, against New Zealand. He missed the 2011 World Cup after yet another knee injury, but has since made a successful return in the 2012 Asia Cup.

Mashrafe was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Bangladesh Awami League from Narail-2 constituency in the 11th National Parliament Elections held in 2018. This is the first time in the world that a country has won the team nomination while captaining the national team of any sport. However, examples of direct involvement in politics while continuing to play professionally are not new among athletes around the world. Among the cricketers, Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka participated in the 2010 elections in Sri Lanka before retiring from international cricket and won that election.

Mashrafe collected the nomination form for the Mashrafe Narail-2 constituency in the 11th National Parliament Election under the Awami League banner on November 11, 2018. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in the eleventh parliamentary election held on December 30, 2018 from Narail-2 constituency with 271210 votes.

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