Former Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza is set for a return to competitive cricket after a gap of eight months, as Gemcon Khulna have signed him up in the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup. Four out of five teams participating in the domestic tournament expressed their interest to rope in Mortaza following his availability after recovering from an injury that forced BCB to put him into the lottery system."Mashrafe got picked by Gemcon Khulna through a lottery held at BCB office today," Khulna officials confirmed media through a media release.
Fortune Barishal was the first team to show interest in Mortaza while Gemcon Khulna, Minister Rajshahi and Beximco Dhaka were also keen. Only table toppers Gazi Group Chattogram stayed away from the tussle."We are delighted to have Mortaza playing for Gemcon Khulna. Despite Narail [district where Mortaza was born] being a part of Khulna, he did not play for Khulna (in any franchise league). I hope the team will perform better and the players will be encouraged to have him beside them," Gemcon Khulna's managing director Kazi Inam said after securing Mortaza's services in the lottery on Sunday.Mortaza began his preparation to return after a gap of more than eight months on December 1. Mortaza will be put in A grade (BDT 15 Lakhs) while he will receive remuneration on pro-rata basis considering he is joining the tournament at a later part.
