Bangladesh captain wins parliamentary election, joins elite list of cricketers

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The year 2018 saw Bangladesh cricket team's ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza winning in his country's parliamentary election to mark an emphatic end to a year that saw a slew of sportspersons returning victorious in the political field.

Veteran all-rounder Mortaza, who has been an active member of his country's ODI side after hanging his boots from T20I cricket, has not played a test since 2009.

He registered a remarkable victory from Narail-2 constituency on the ruling Awami League's ticket, which was part of the clean sweep made by incumbent Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party in the much-anticipated parliamentary elections in the South Asian country.

Hasina's Awami League party and its allies won a whopping 288 seats in the 300-seat parliament.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar smiles as he arrives at Parliament House in New Delhi, June 4, 2012. /VCG Photo

In his maiden attempt to cut his teeth on politics, 35-year-old Mortaza scripted a landslide victory with a massive 274,418 votes, becoming the first active cricketer to achieve the rare distinction of reaching his country's parliament after winning an election. Incidentally, his fellow teammate and the current Bangladesh captain in tests and T20s, Shakib Al Hasan too had planned to contest for the Awami League in the 2018 general elections but had pulled out of the race in the last moment.

With Mortaza making a successful plunge into the political pool, he has joined an elite list of international cricketers as well as sportspersons, which include the former FIFA World Player of the Year Award winner George Weah and Pakistan's cricket World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan among a few distinguished others.

In this handout photograph released by Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID) on August 18, 2018, then appointed Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inspects the guard of honor on his arrival in the Prime Minister House during a ceremony in Islamabad. /VCG Photo

Former Indian captain and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar became the first-ever active cricketer before Mortaza to become a member of parliament when he was nominated as a member of Indian parliament's upper house, the Rajya Sabha, in 2012. But like Mortaza, Tendulkar didn't have win any election as the upper house of the Indian parliament has the provision of nominating 12 distinguished members from the fields like arts, science, culture, education and sports. Tendulkar, however, came under fire for a few times for not attending adequate parliamentary sessions.

One of the most significant political wins of the year 2018 was scripted by Pakistan's former captain Imran Khan, who led his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to power after registering a historic win in his country's parliamentary elections with the promise of a “New Pakistan”. A charismatic Khan, who captained his side to Pakistan's maiden World Cup victory in 1992, sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of his country in August last year.

Director of Bangladesh Cricket Board Naimur Rahman Durjoy (C) poses with Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim (R) and West Indies captain Darren Sammy (L) with the T20 trophy at the Warner Park cricket ground in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, August 27, 2014. /VCG Photo

Even before Mortaza, another former Bangladesh captain had a poll-winning innings in politics. Bangladesh's first-ever test captain, Naimur Rahman Durjoy was elected to his country's parliament from Manikganj-1 constituency in 2014 and has been an active politician for his country's ruling party.

Former Indian captain Mansur Ali Khan had twice lost in Indian parliamentary elections while attempting to become a parliamentarian while one of India's most influential cricketing personalities in the early years and controversial former captain Maharaja of Vizianagaram or Vizzy was an elected member of the Indian parliament in the 1950s. Another controversial former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was elected to the Indian parliament in 2009 while former opening batsman Chetan Chouhan was the member of parliament on a couple of occasions.

Police arrest Sri Lanka's petroleum minister and captain of Sri Lanka's 1996 cricket World Cup Arjuna Ranatunga (L), in Colombo, October 29, 2018. /VCG Photo ID

One of the most colorful Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is a former MP and is currently a top minister in India's provincial Punjab government while India's 1983 cricket World Cup-winning team member Kirti Azad has also been an incumbent member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the bicameral Indian parliament. Another sub-continent country Sri Lanka too had their cricketer-turned-parliament members as their 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga was an elected parliamentary member and one of the architects of his World Cup champion side, Sanath Jayasuriya too had a winning start to his political career.