Mohammed Ashraful scored a ton on the eve of his 17th birthday. (Getty Images)
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Former Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful expressed his desire to once again represent his country with his five-year ban for involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing almost coming to an end.
Ashraful was also suspended for three years from domestic cricket for his involvement in corruption in the 2013 Bangladesh Premier League. Having already been given the green signal to play in Bangladesh's domestic competitions in 2016, the 34-year-old will become eligible for international cricket and the BPL from August 13.
"I have been waiting for August 13, 2018 for a long time now," Ashraful told ESPNcricinfo. "It has been more than five years since the day I admitted my involvement. Although I have played domestic cricket in the last two seasons, there is now nothing preventing me from being eligible for national selection. Playing for Bangladesh again will be my greatest achievement."
The right-hander has been in good form in List-A games, averaging 47.63 in 23 matches. Ashraful (2017-18 Dhaka Premier League) also became only the second batsman after Alviro Peterson (2015-16 Momentum One-Day Cup) to score five centuries in a single List-A tournament. However, he has not been able carry forward his form in first-class games where he only averages 21.85 in the last two years.
"The first season after my return wasn't great but I did well in the 2017-18 season. I hope to do even better in the coming seasons," said Ashraful. "Now I can be considered for selection through my performance. I have already gone through a month-long training programme and after August 15, I will go into pre-season training leading into the upcoming season's National Cricket League."
Ashraful has played 61 Tests, 177 One-Day Internationals and 23 Twenty20 Internationals for his country, scoring 2737, 3468 and 450 runs respectively.
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