English 
Bengali 
The irreversible interchange of cricket and politics reflects how sports influence leadership and national identity by fading out the lines between athletic fame and political power. This former Bangladeshi cricketer Mashrafe Mortaza becomes the first and the only player to become a politician after switching his career completely from cricket.
Who is Mashrafe Mortaza?
Mashrafe, who is lovingly called as the ‘Narail Express’ is a legendary fast bowler and former skipper of Bangladesh Senior team. He has etched an inspiring cricket career which garnered pride to the nation through his fierce spirit on the field by becoming the first Bangladeshi bowler to earn 100 wickets in ODI format. Also, he has represented his country four times in the ICC World Cup tournaments.
In a historic move, the man who is named as the “Comeback King” has announced that he had decided to switch his career into politics too and contested in 2018 General Elections while he was an active skipper in cricket. It was considered to be an extremely rare feat and by representing the Awami League he was elected as the Member of Parliament from Narail-2, which is his hometown constituency.
His bold decision was not made out of haste but came out of a long-standing notion which made the actively involved Mashrafe serve into community development, youth empowerment, and infrastructure improvement in Narail. While talking about his characteristics, he remains an idol for the upcoming young generations both in cricket and politics for his straightforward approach, the quality of practising humility to fulfill his purpose by ignoring the privileges of VIP.
Though he has not declared his official retirement from all forms of cricket, Mashrafe took the oath to shift his complete focus to serve the people which proves his leadership that goes beyond sports. Well, technically Shakib Al Hasan followed the footsteps of Mashrafe and entered into politics but he still plays in the international ODI cricket format.
