Violent protestors attack Mashrafe Mortaza, set his house on fire

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza also reportedly faced the wrath of the ongoing violent protests in his country. The protests began last month when university students demanded the abolishment of quotas in civil service jobs.

One-third of the civil service jobs are reserved for relatives of veterans from Bangladesh’s war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Even though the Bangladesh government largely met the demands of the students, the protests soon transformed into an anti-government movement.

Other citizens joined the students in the protest as well and it did not take long for the movement to turn violent.

As per media reports, over 300 people have already lost their lives due to the violence. On Monday (August 5), the movement took a huge turn when Bangladesh's long-term Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina not only resigned but also fled the country.

Hasina has been in power since 2009. After her resignation, the Bangladesh army took charge of the governance. 

Mashrafe Mortaza's house attacked:

Hasina's departure and resignation, however, did not bring the situation under control as the protestors continued targeting government buildings, statues, and even the houses of others.

As per media reports, Mashrafe Mortaza's house came under attack as well on Monday. 

The Bangladesh great is a Member of Parliament of the ruling Awami League party from the Narail-2 constituency in the Khulna division. Earlier this year, he was elected as a member of the parliament and represented Hasina's party. 

The report stated that the protestors were angry over Mashrafe Mortaza's silence on alleged "massacres and mass arrests of students". A video of his house set on fire has been doing the rounds on social media. 

A mob vandalized and set on fire the house of former Bangladesh cricket captain
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, MP of Narail-2 constituency. Several homes of Awami League leaders have been set on fire by mobs. Chaos in many towns of Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/4RBYB7Rh7L

— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) August 5, 2024

Mashrafe Mortaza is one of Bangladesh's most decorated cricketers. Not only did he spearhead their pace attack for years but also led the team in one Test, 28 T20Is, and 88 ODIs. He led Bangladesh to 50 wins in ODIs, 10 wins in T20Is, and one win in Tests.

He represented Bangladesh in international cricket for almost two decades. After making his debut in 2001, Mortaza played 36 Tests, 220 ODIs and 54 T20Is. He picked up 78 wickets in Tests, 270 wickets in ODIs, and 42 in T20Is. He also scored over 2500 runs including four fifties across formats in international cricket.