'No compromise till World Cup'

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza became the first ever active international cricketer to join parliament when he was elected from Narail-2 in the eleventh national election on Sunday.

Mashrafe, who was greeted by garlands from supporters after winning by a landslide, informed that although his new responsibilities will be quite demanding, his dedication to cricket will not be affected.

"I won't compromise anything when it comes to cricket till the World Cup. So I have the same cricketing mentality till then," said the charismatic captain.

Mashrafe has quite a busy schedule ahead as 2019 will begin with him leading defending champions Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) set to get underway on January 5. The right-arm pacer, who will return to Dhaka today, said that his focus will now shift to performing well in the BPL.

"The focus will be on that from tomorrow. However, as I always gave my best in my cricketing career, I will also try to replicate it while working here [Narail]."

ODI skipper Mashrafe will then travel to New Zealand for a three-ODI and three-match Test series against the hosts in February. The Tigers will then play an ODI tri-series against hosts Ireland and West Indies in May ahead of the World Cup in England from May 30.