Multifaceted Mashrafe

Inspirational is the word most associated with Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, and while he is that through and through, something that he is not credited with -- perhaps because of his light demeanour -- is that he is one of the deepest thinkers and keenest students of the game in Bangladesh. It is no surprise then that he is the most successful ODI captain for Bangladesh, having won 27 out of 50 matches. Although the occasion of his 50th match as captain has not been a happy one, it is still a landmark to be celebrated and an opportunity to fete a truly multifaceted cricketer, whose subtle but powerful versatility is illustrated by the fact that he has been the highest wicket-taker with 58 scalps since he began his second tenure at the end of 2014. He is also very generous, and after the third ODI against South Africa and on the eve of his departure to Bangladesh, he made time for a group of journalists to have a chat about his captaincy career so far. The following are excerpts.

Question (Q): How was the journey so far; playing 50 ODI's as a captain?

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (MM): There were a lot of ups and downs and if I had started earlier it would have been more. I got to know about my 50th game as a captain yesterday from you guys. There were injuries and ups and downs and I got the captaincy quite a few times but this time it has been longer. I think the satisfaction is more than everything here.

Q: What do you think regarding the success graph since you have taken over? Do you think it could have been better?

MM: Overall I think my present dream is to find out why we failed here [abroad] and to overcome that. The start and the end were bad this year. However we did manage to win in the middle where we played an away tournament and an away series well. We have started to play well at home but cricket these days has become home and away, where most of the teams are losing away and winning at home.

We were previously unable to win at home which is something we are doing at the moment. So there is a satisfaction because our dream was to win 80-85 per cent at home and we are achieving that. At the moment the challenge as a captain is obviously winning maximum matches abroad. So far there is not much to say about that and recently nothing at all happened as we lost three consecutive matches very badly. But that's not the end of the world as we have more opportunities because we are going to play four-five away matches. So you can say there is room for improvement.

Q: Did the win against England just after taking up captaincy ease your start to the journey as captain?

MM: I never think about this part and at the end of the day I judge my individual performance where I judge myself as a player based on my contributions. I was unable to do anything in this tour which is very upsetting for me. I have said before that I had to think for some time when I was offered captaincy for the third time because I got injured on the previous two occasions and I was scared of that, not of the game. But my father encouraged me a lot not to worry about injury and said to take up the captaincy and I took it only because of my father. Apart from that I did not think of anything else.

Q: Was that a challenge for you when you took up the captaincy keeping your injury history in mind along with Bangladesh's dismal performance in 2014?

MM: Obviously it was a huge challenge. I can remember in my first game as captain we were four wickets down for 39 runs against Zimbabwe before Shakib struck a century and Sabbir scored a quick 44 runs on his debut. I think I felt the challenge in the very first game and secondly I wanted to face a similar challenge when we came to South Africa this time. Before coming to South Africa I thought we may lose the Test series but we obviously have the ability to win the ODI series, but at the end we are zero. The difference is that we were able to win all five games against Zimbabwe at that time but over here we were unable to win a single one.

The thing is the challenge is still there for me. To be honest there will be ups and downs and at the same time you can't win in the same manner and you have to think how to overcome the situation individually.

When maximum people in Bangladesh are following cricket the expectation is heightened. So when you go out to the field with that expectation then you have to analyse where the mistakes are and what is right and it's not only about the captaincy, it's also about the players' mentality. In this type of situation it's better to have a break which will help overcome things as you can have a good and bad time.

Q: Was it pleasing to see the team starting to play well since you took up the captaincy as Bangladesh were going through a tough period with the World Cup just around the corner?

MM: Obviously that was a very good feeling but in the back of my mind I wondered when this moment would come. As I am giving you the interview today I was waiting for this bad phase. It's not like this phase would never come. I have witnessed this in most of the big teams in the world. And the thing is how we can overcome the situation and I am sure this bad phase won't stay long.

Q: Do you think the leadership quality has been there by birth?

MM: I never like to impose anything which I don't agree to or like even when you're in the game or even in my family life and I think sharing is very important. I always try to create a comfort zone for others. I even think the same for my bowlers on the field when there is wind from one end I try to give him that comfort. At times I am unable to provide that so I explain the reason on the field and what to do. I think personal life is very important because there is an impact on the game from your personal life as well.

Q: Who do you think has the captaincy element among the other captains and vice-captains you have witnessed so far?

MM: From the past three years' experience I saw that one needs to have a lot of patience if they want to lead Bangladesh because there are a lot of impatient people around the captain. We can take an example from Steve Smith's position as he worked with patience to bring the current Australian team into good shape.

Q: Highs and lows as a captain?

MM: As a captain I think this is the toughest period for me as the team is going through defeats. Yes we did lose to New Zealand but we tried to create the opportunities there. Losing the series against England, beaten by Afghanistan and a one-run defeat against India in the T20 World Cup were really frustrating. On the other hand there are a lot of good memories. Beating India and South Africa at home and reaching the semifinal of the Champions Trophy was among them.

Q: Your experience with Jamie Siddons and Chandika Hathursingha as a captain?

MM: Both are different. When I got captaincy under Siddons I was informed from a member of the team that he asked why I was made the captain. That was a big shock for me. On the other hand this time I heard nothing like that, instead I heard a lot of positive things.

Q: You being fit for the past three years since becoming the captain. How do you see that?

MM: My whole life is depended on luck and I truly believe in luck.

Q: Do you want to continue as captain?

MM: There lies a challenge for me as I have a desire to play only as a player rather than being captain. But at times I think about it but then again I think to continue as it is.

Q: Do you dream of winning the World Cup?

MM: For a captain or a good team it cannot be a standard. If that was it then South Africa would never be called a good team. Overall I want a good team that plays well both home and abroad and it's really tough. My ultimate challenge is to win matches away from home.