At the age of 34, Mohammad Ashraful, back after serving a five-year ban, is targeting the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) to make his presence felt in the eyes of the national selectors.
The former national captain, who at one point was touted as the ‘next big thing’, was handed an eight-year ban for his involvement in match and spot-fixing in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. His ban was reduced to five years on appeal and Ashraful is now hopeful of getting a chance to represent his country again.
“Playing in the BPL does matter a lot because it’s a big platform [to prove yourself],” Ashraful told reporters on Monday. “If you get a chance to play there and perform as well, it becomes easier to get into the national team.
“NCL will be starting soon. I want to play well in domestic cricket. That would be enough I guess,” Ashraful said. “If I had any matches to play now, I would have a chance to perform and earn a spot in the team. But there are no [domestic] games right now.
“I want do something special when the [domestic] season starts. I don’t want to take any shortcut to return to the team. I want to return to the team after performing [well] for enough time. If I return to the team after performing well, I can play there for a long time.”
