Mohammad Ashraful was touted to be a great batsman when he made his debut. The Bangladeshi batsman is the youngest centurion in the history of Test cricket. Ashraful also scored a magnificent ton against Ricky Ponting’s Australian team in 2005. On the back of this, Bangladesh defeated the Aussies for the very first time in history.
However; unfortunately, the decline started and Ashraful disappeared from international cricket. In 2014, Ashraful was banned from all forms of cricket by the Bangladesh Premier League’s anti-corruption tribunal. Ashraful was involved in spot-fixing during a BPL match in its second season and was banned for 8 years.
Read More: Sachin Tendulkar Recalls How He Put Glenn McGrath Off Track On Lively Wicket
Mohammad Ashraful recently gave an interview to Cricfrenzy and revealed how his mindset changed after going to Hajj. The batsman also disclosed that once he even thought of committing suicide. It was his brother-in-law that motivated him that made him overcome those difficult times.
Ashraful said “At one point I thought I would commit suicide than leading this life. Then I went to Hajj, going to Hajj changed my mindset”. I shared these thoughts with my brother-in-law (Mojibul Alam) and he did the right thing by ridiculing me. He told me that even a great player like Azharuddin has gone through such hardships. The fans and public will be upset, but I would have to soldier through it”.
Read More: ICC Likely To Postpone ICC T20 World Cup To 2022
Mohammad Ashraful went to explain that after the incident he felt like a criminal and even his closed ones turned away from him. He found it extremely tough to show his face in public. Ashraful got a sigh of relief in 2016 when BCB partially lifted his ban and allowed him to play domestic cricket in Bangladesh. In 2018, Ashraful became eligible to represent his country in international cricket.
“I still remember what mental harassment it was. Everyone knows I have committed a crime, I have done wrong, fixed a match. I was a criminal in everyone’s eyes and everyone started looking with Curved eyes.”
“Many people who were close to me also moved away. Some of my loved ones turned away. I always thought about how can I survive such an incident. How do I tell this to my family, how do I show my face in public? How will I cover up the social stigma which will happen to me and my family,” Ashraful concluded.
