Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza & 90 others accused of inciting attacks during countrywide demonstration - Reports

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and 90 others, including his father Golam Mortaza, have been accused of inciting attacks during a recent countrywide demonstration, reported bdcrictime.com on Wednesday (September 11). The complaint has been filed by Narail’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary Sheikh Mostafa Al-Muzahidur Rahman Palash.

The charges were filed on September 10 and no arrests have been made so far. The case also includes 400-500 unnamed individuals, the report added.

Notably, the student protests were regarding quota reforms before they turned into violent anti-government demonstrations, which forced the then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the nation. Several hundreds lost their lives while many were injured during the political unrest that lasted for a few months.

The report comes weeks after another notable cricketer Shakib Al Hasan and 147 others were accused in a separate incident involving the death of a garment worker in Bangladesh.

Earlier, on August 5, Dhaka Tribune reported that Mashrafe's house was set ablaze after Hasina left the country.

Both Shakib and Mashrafe worked under the Banner of Bangladesh Awami League, the previous ruling party of Bangladesh.

Shakib had won the parliamentary seat from Magura-1 during the 2024 Bangladeshi general election. Meanwhile, Mashrafe won the parliamentary seat from Narail-2 in December 2018. Later, he served as the youth and sports affairs secretary from December 2022.

Days after PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was named Chief Advisor of the interim government through oath of office on August 8, 2024.

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Mashrafe Mortaza’s career in numbers

Mashrafe Mortaza has represented Bangladesh in 36 Tests, 220 ODIs, and 54 ODIs. The 40-year-old has the second-highest wickets for his country, picking up 390 wickets across formats. He is only behind Shakib Al Hasan (708 wickets in 445 games). Mashrafe has also amassed 2,961 runs, comprising four 50s.

With 50 wins in 88 ODIs, Mashrafe is the most successful Bangladesh captain in the 50-over format. He has also led Bangladesh to 10 victories in 28 T20Is and a Test win.

Apart from international cricket, Mashrafe Mortaza has also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The medium pacer has 170 scalps in 190 T20Is.