The physically challenged have the right to savour life: Mashrafe bin Mortaza

Bangladesh cricket captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza has described his role as the Goodwill Ambassador for an international T20 tournament of physically challenged people, to be held next month, to be the most satisfying aspect of his career so far. In an exclusive interview to bdnews24.com, the skipper has appealed to cricket fans to come and see the matches.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 27 August 2015, 05:19 AM
Updated : 27 August 2015, 05:19 AM

A five-nation ICRC International T20 Cricket Tournament is scheduled from Sep 2 to 10 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Dhaka’s Mirpur and the BKSP. Besides host Bangladesh, the other countries taking part are England, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

bdnews24.com, Bangladesh’s first online newspaper, is the event’s media partner.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has selected the country’s one-day cricket captain and iconic figure, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, as the tournament’s Goodwill Ambassador. He was away to Singapore for personal reasons and was back on Tuesday night.

Mashrafe spoke to bdnews24.com at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, opening up on the event’s various implications and on his predilections.

Association with the tournament

I feel honoured and happy to be chosen the tournament’s Goodwill Ambassador by the BCB. Most people have a sympathetic corner for the physically challenged. But more than sympathy they yearn for sensitivity. They want us to be perceptive and to understand them.

I feel all the more happy because the tournament is being held in Bangladesh. Physically challenged people here are not shown the respect they deserve.

Let me recount an incident from my own area. A person called Apurba is the elder brother of a close friend of mine. He too is like my friend. He is a bit hunched-back from childhood. People make fun of him, call him names, because of the deformity. But I have never done that. In fact, I have always reprimanded others for doing so. I used to be protective. No one liked having him in a cricket or football team. But I used to take him in my team. He too wanted to play and had a right to do so.

I wonder if disabled people are treated with so much derision anywhere else as they are in our country. We coin all kinds of monikers – ‘lame fellow’, ‘blind chap’ etc – highlighting their disability. I always felt for them. So it’s a good feeling to be associated with this tournament.

Message of social rights

I am feeling particularly happy about our boys in the team. They suffer so much and live a constricted life. They don’t get what they deserve. But they are playing in spite of all that and enjoying themselves – that’s very important. They certainly deserve the joy of playing. They too have the right to savour life.

Besides, the event carries a message for others. It can inspire those who are forced to sit at home. Parents who are depressed because of their children’s disability can realise that their children too can be given a normal life.