Ashraful not playing international cricket soon after ban ends Monday: Chief selector

The international ban on former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful is ending on Monday, but Chief Selector Minhajul Abedin does not see room for the batsman in the national team now.

In 2013, Ashraful was found guilty of match-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League and handed an eight-year ban by the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

The ban was eventually reduced to five years, with two years’ suspended sentence following his appeal.

Ashraful got the scope to play domestic cricket in August, 2016. The suspended

sentence, during which he could not play franchise and international cricket, is ending now.

Minhajul, however, says they want to see Ashraful play in all formats in domestic cricket and understand the level of his fitness for at least a year before making a call on his return to international cricket.

“I would say that he doesn’t have a place in the team at this moment. He is not attached to the level of fitness of the teams from HP to ‘A’ team to the national side. He will have to give himself some more time to reach this level,” the chief selector told the media the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday.       

“We can consider his case if he can stay at this level. So, now we are not thinking about him,” Minhajul added.

The chief selector, however, does not think that age will prove a barrier for Ashraful, who turned 34 on July 7.

He reminded the former star cricketer of the fierce competition in terms of form and fitness to break into the national team. Ashraful will need to do something special to stage a comeback, Minhajul said.

“Age doesn’t matter. Any cricketer can play if his fitness is at the international level like the others in the national team.

“And his performance has to be much better than the others because many other cricketers have cemented their place in the spot he bats. So any player willing to play in the national team must come up with something special,” Minhajul added.