"Fifteen years ago we were in India for an A team tour, just before the Test series against Zimbabwe in which Mashrafe would make his Test debut.We were having dinner on the balcony of the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai when the club's president, Raj Singh Dungarpur, walked up to us and asked who the captain of the team was. I stood up and shook his hand. He said, "Please play well tomorrow. Don't lose too badly."Mashrafe was just a kid back then. He asked me what was being said, and I told him. I think Mr Dungarpur's words did us a huge favour that day. Mashrafe bowled really fast in that game, and took three wickets. I have seen Taskin bowl, but in those days, Mashrafe was really quick. That day, Mashrafe showed us how good he would be for Bangladesh."

"Mashrafe is the biggest inspiration of mine. He is a living legend. He is my Hero."

"Some people may say he’s unfit. But the truth is if he is unfit now, then he has been unfit for the last 10 years – his knees were never okay. But then we saw it emotionally. Now, maybe we are looking at it as a big deal because things are not perfect for him in the last few matches. We are talking about a person on whose back (holding his hand) we have come here. I think it is very unfortunate because considering Mashrafe’s contribution behind the Bangladesh team and bringing the team to this stage, to make comments like these on him is very unfair. I think he deserves much more respect than he is getting."

"He led the team with utmost determination and grit despite losing the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal. He rated Mashrafe Mortaza as the best skipper of Asia Cup 2018"