It will be my last World Cup: Mashrafe

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza on Monday confirmed that this will be his last World Cup as a player.

"For sure, this is my last World Cup," he said at a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

The pacer said he has no special plans for ‘his last World Cup’, which will begin on 30 May and will be played in England and Wales.

“No special preparations. It rather ups pressure. I don’t think that I would be able to do anything different taking a special preparation. I’ll try to perform as a player. Captaincy must be an important thing there. So, I’ll just try to carry out my regular duties,” Mashrafe said.

Asked about Bangladesh’s chances of winning the trophy, Mashrafe sounded hopeful.

"Look! This team is capable of winning the World Cup, but winning a big trophy is a matter of habit. If we could win the Asia Cup, we would have got a privilege this time. But, we are stuck in one place."

"We, the players, have already discussed the matter. We have to give our best in every match," he said, adding, "In this World Cup, every team will have to play nine matches. We know that we can’t win every match. We have to play nine matches in a month. But it means there will be an opportunity for us to turn around after a bad day."