I do not hope to return to the national team: Ashraful

Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful said that he does not harbour any hopes of returning to Bangladesh colours and said that he is planning to retire from cricket after playing for another one or two seasons. 

The youngest Test centurion had previously expressed his desire to play at least one game for Bangladesh after returning from a ban served for match-fixing in 2018.  

"No, I do not hope to return (to the national team) and at the moment, I just want to enjoy the game. I have played enough cricket but there are youngsters who are sitting at home and not getting opportunities. I am worried for them. I might say goodbye after playing the next one or two seasons," Ashraful told the media on Sunday. 

His teammates Aftab Ahmed, Rajin Saleh, Nazmul Hossain and others have established themselves as coaches after retirement. Ashraful is also willing to remain involved with cricket after bidding adieu to cricket. 

"I haven't decided on it yet (taking coaching as profession after retirement). But I want to remain involved with cricket and since I have got the experience, I would want to share that with the youngsters," he said. 

Ashraful was not picked up by any team in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League and according to the 38-year-old cricketer, the Bangladesh Cricket Board should also think about the fringe players. 

"Obviously, I miss playing BPL but more than that I feel that the youngsters are also not getting enough opportunities. We have more than 120 to 140 first-class players and over 200 List A players. We normally arrange tournaments which allow only 60-70 players to participate and don't think about the rest. I think its difficult to become world champions if we think that way," Ashraful added.